"CleanSweep": First at mit Sloan for the application developed with Typhoon Project data

The CleanSweep platform, developed with the host organization the Public Benefit Athanasios K. Laskaridis Foundation and as part of this year's Capstone Project of the mit Sloan School of Management's Master of Business Analytics program, it won first place among 44 teams.

The project was implemented by students Bria Weisblat and Jocelyn Ju, under the academic guidance of Dr. Dimitris Bertsimas, exploring how data collected from the Typhoon Project's beach clean-up operations can be leveraged to design future interventions more effectively.

The Athanasios K. Laskaridis Public Benefit Foundation, as a host organization, provided the research team with access to the data and operational experience of the Typhoon Project. Specifically, for more than seven years, the Typhoon Project has been cleaning inaccessible and isolated coasts throughout Greece.

Each operation is accompanied by systematic recording, through which the program has created one of the largest databases on coastal pollution in the Mediterranean.

Having completed a first cleaning cycle, the team now conducts follow-up visits, monitoring how pollution is progressing over time. To date, more than 25,891,000 pieces have been collected and recorded, corresponding to more than 1,134,000 kg from almost 5,000 beaches.

The team used all the data collected by the Typhoon Project team over the last seven years, as well as extensive visual material. More than 3 TB of photos and videos from drones, as well as the set of operational data of the Typhoon Project, were used in order for the two students to develop CleanSweep. The result is a digital tool that uses artificial intelligence and analytical models to predict where waste is most likely to accumulate, supporting better planning of cleaning operations.

The award-winning platform combines re-pollution prediction models, route optimization, and drone image verification to create a comprehensive decision support tool for coastal pollution management.

The distinction of the Foundation's team at mit Sloan highlighted the possibilities offered by the exploitation of real environmental data for the development of practical tools with immediate application. At the same time, it brought to the fore the value of systematic collection and documentation of field data, which can form the basis for research, innovation and new approaches to managing environmental challenges.