16-yr-old Canadian student built AI robot turtle that hunts plastic invisible to eye

Canadian teenager Evan Budz has built an autonomous AI robot turtle that swims on its own and detects microplastics in lakes with 94% accuracy. The 16-year-old spent roughly 4,000 hours on the bionic sea turtle and its underwater holographic camera, winning a $50,000 scholarship at the 2026 Regeneron ISEF. His goal: replace slow, expensive lab testing with on-the-spot microplastic detection in remote water bodies.