Canadian teen wins $50,000 scholarship for AI turtle that detects microplastics

Sixteen-year-old Canadian student Evan Budz has developed an autonomous robot turtle capable of detecting microplastics in lakes with 94% accuracy. The bionic turtle is equipped with an underwater holographic camera and operates independently without human guidance. Budz invested approximately 4,000 hours into building the device. He won a $50,000 scholarship at the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair for the invention. His aim is to replace costly and time-consuming laboratory testing with real-time microplastic detection in hard-to-reach water bodies.