Assessing the Effectiveness of Marine Robotics Technologies for Marine Oil Spill and Microplastic Mitigation: A Comparative Study

Abstract

This study assessed the effectiveness of marine robotics technology in combating marine oil spills and microplastic pollution. Rising environmental concerns in marine environments require novel solutions, resulting in the use of modern technologies. This study seeks to determine the best maritime robotics technology based on major characteristics, such as adaptability, efficiency, safety, and cost. To achieve this, a hybrid of multi-criteria decision-making methods (MCDM), including the Genetic Algorithm (GA), Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), and Grey Relational Analysis–Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (GRA-TOPSIS), was proposed and implemented. The main findings of the study revealed that Unmanned Underwater Gliders (UUGs) performed best, followed by Wave Gliders and Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs). A sensitivity analysis validated the robustness of these rankings. These findings highlight the importance of prioritizing the development and deployment of UUGs and Wave Gliders to manage maritime oil spills and microplastic contamination. The research did not focus on a specific geographic region but provided insights applicable to global marine pollution management and the deployment of a novel hybrid of multi-criteria decision-making methods. Moreover, this research highlights the importance of optimizing and enhancing the performance of UUGs, Wave Gliders, and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) to effectively mitigate environmental risks in marine ecosystems. The study also introduces a novel hybrid MCDM method called GAGT (GA-AHP-GRA-TOPSIS), which is a combination of various MCDM techniques used in the study, and provides useful insights for policymakers, environmental agencies, and researchers working on marine pollution mitigation efforts, emphasizing the critical significance of cutting-edge marine robotics technologies in protecting marine ecosystems. The hybrid technique was able to capitalize on the strengths of each method, improving the overall decision-making process.