When most gamers think of Razer, they tend to think of sleek black-and-green gaming peripherals, usually loaded with high-end features and, of course, plenty of RGB lighting. However, its latest product is something almost no one who is familiar with the company would expect.
The gaming peripheral giant recently decided to move forward with its highly publicized Project Hazel RGB face mask. Now dubbed the Zephyr, the mask is seeking beta testers before moving to an official release. While the face mask is a bit of an unexpected product from Razer, its latest one is seemingly even more random: an autonomous trash-collecting boat.
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Outlined in a video on Razer's official YouTube channel, Clearbots are small, solar-powered self-navigating boats capable of removing trash from bodies of water. The robots are capable of detecting trash from up to two meters away using AI and an onboard camera, and collect it with a conveyor belt which then disposes the waste into a collection basket in tow. While Clearbot had a previous utilitarian design, its collaboration with Razer evolved it into something more. Designed to be more marketable, the Razer-designed version features a sleek and futuristic catamaran design, complete with a jet black paint job, the green snakehead logo, and matching green lighting.
The Razer Clearbot's cameras are also capable of identifying different types of waste, so as to not only identify what trash they're collecting, but can approximate its size and weight. Along with GPS tagging the trash's location, the device can show the info on a map to give scientists, researchers, and policy makers a better understanding of how much and what kind of trash is accumulating in particular areas. This is all part of the company's "Go Green With Razer" sustainability initiative, which is a multi-faceted approach for the company to offset its carbon footprint. It was announced earlier this year that Razer intends to be carbon neutral by 2030.
Razer's collaboration with Clearbot is just one way the gaming company is looking to help the environment. The peripheral producer also has a line of "Sneki Snek" products. A play on the company's three-headed snake logo, gamers who purchase any of the Sneki Snek mascot merchandise will save the equivalent of 10 trees. The company's goal is to collectively save at least one million trees in total, with a new Sneki Snek product releasing every 100,000 trees. Its certainly heartening to see one of the most recognizable brands in the gaming industry make a concerted effort towards helping to save the Earth's environment.
Thankfully, Razer isn't alone in these efforts either. A massive fundraising effort earlier this year by Ori and the Will of the Wisps saved 29,000 acres of rainforest, an area roughly twice the size of Manhattan. Hopefully other industry players join in on the trend, and help to create a more sustainable future for the planet.
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