Applications of artificial intelligence in oceanic nuclear contamination management

Abstract

Recently, nuclear pollution in the ocean has become a hot debate. The unprecedented advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has engendered practical applications for addressing environmental issues such as nuclear contamination in oceans. AI algorithms and applications have been widely studied in multiple scientific fields, however, the research on marine science, especially oceanic nuclear contamination is limited. To fill in the gap in the related field, this paper introduces four major categories of AI technologies in oceanic nuclear contamination management, explores their applications in six companies/institutions across three leading countries, and compares the similarity and differences among them. It is found that UK, Japan, and China mainly use robots or drones for nuclear contamination management, and rely heavily on state fundings and the scientific output from research institutions. On the other hand, different countries have various objectives and motivations to drive AI in this area. What is more, we found that although most traditional big IT companies have not clearly stated the usage of AI in marine pollution, the need to diminish the impacts of nuclear pollution in oceans will inevitably urge new applications of AI in oceanic nuclear contamination.