This concept was developed by an 11 year old boy who is diagnosed as Level 2 Asperger. I was partly homeschooling my son when we came across the 'Origin - Big Little Ideas' competition. Cooper worked on this concept for 13 weeks as we supported the development of his ideas. Eventually myself, his Dad and his sister (created a video) worked with Cooper to develop the concept.

Cooper's goals for this vessel was solve pollution of our oceans through recycling and to make Australia a leader in the field of ocean conservation.

Essentially 'The Scavenger' is a solar powered autonomous vessel that would roam the seas, collecting rubbish, filtering water and returning the compacted rubbish to it's docking points.

In the illustrations section is the script Cooper wrote to share his idea along with the drawings (and computer graphic) that show the development of his idea.

I (Mum) am not sure how much content to include here as this is his idea. Cooper is now in Year 9. We are available to provide more content if someone can guide us on what is needed.

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Hello! My name is Cooper Hill. The name of my Little Big Idea is ‘The Scavenger’. The problems I am solving is pollution of our oceans and recycling.

My invention swims the ocean looking for garage. It is environmentally friendly because when it senses garbage, the garbage collection unit at the front opens.

It devours garbage and compresses it into squares. Then the squares are sent out the back on ropes through the dispenser.

The craft also filters the water it collects during this process and puts the clean water back in the ocean.

This invention is good for the planet and the animals of the ocean. The lifecycle of the fish and other animals is safe because there are no more plastics or oil corrupting it. It helps humans because we catch fish in the oceans.

The Scavenger has many parts:

1. A DOOLAB – It soaks up oil and stores it.
2. GARBAGE COLLECTION UNIT – It eats the garbage.
3. HEAT SENSORS – It detects heat signatures and steers away from it.
4. SOLAR PANELS – These use the sun to power the craft.
5. ALARM – Lights and siren to warn living things in the area.
6. GARBAGE DISPENSING UNIT – sends the compacted garbage out the back on ropes and drags it back to shore.
7. PROPELLERS – Moves the Scavenger through the water.
8. FILTER – The Scavenger collects the water, filters out the pollution and puts it back in the ocean.
9. JETS – The jets push the craft back over when flipped in rough seas.
10. RUDDER – The rudder helps the Scavenger to steer through the water.
11. SATELLITE TRANSMITTER – It alerts a support team if it is damaged or if it needs to dock to unload the garbage and the oil.
12. AUSTRALIA FLAG – We want to be the Number 1 ocean conservationist.
13. CAMERA – 24 hour live feed so people can see where the Scavenger is and what is around it.