Students of electrical engineering and energy management at Fachhochschule Dortmund have developed an autonomous robotic vehicle that recognizes, collects and disposes of cigarette butts at the international Smart Green Island Makeathon 2026 in Gran Canaria.
From February 24 to 28, more than 200 young talents from numerous countries met at the Museo Elder for Science and Technology in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to work together on prototypes for a sustainable future. The Fachhochschule Dortmund team was accompanied by Prof. Dr. Simone Arnold and Andre Tenbeitel from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.
The guiding theme of this year's Makeathon was "Circular Economy through Circular Society": in interdisciplinary teams, students developed solutions for topics such as the circular economy and recycling. Companies from industry contributed specific tasks that were to be translated into functioning hardware prototypes on site within just four days. "This is a unique opportunity for our students to work in interdisciplinary teams on real industry challenges and make valuable contacts," says Prof. Dr. Simone Arnold. The trip to the Makeathon shows how closely sustainability, robotics and artificial intelligence are anchored in the degree course.
"Incredibly motivating atmosphere"
As part of a cross-university team, the six UAS students developed an autonomous robotic vehicle for waste disposal. With the help of machine vision, the system was to identify cigarette butts on the ground, drive to specific locations, pick up the butts and then dispose of them in a container. The students worked with camera systems, AI-supported object recognition and an autonomous driving control system that navigated the robot safely through the room. The work was accompanied by mentors and company representatives. "This mixture of teamwork, direct feedback from industry and the creative atmosphere in the museum is incredibly motivating," reports Simone Arnold.
The Smart Green Island Makeathon sees itself as an innovation festival that combines technology, sustainability and education. Parallel to the Makeathon, technology workshops for local schoolchildren and the EUROCAST science conference were held at the Museo Elder, further strengthening the exchange between research, teaching and practice. Students from Fachhochschule Dortmund and Westfälische Hochschule have been attending this event together for the past three years.