A Grade 10 student in Burlington, Ont., hopes his award-winning invention of a bionic turtle will help make underwater ecosystems safer and cleaner.
Evan Budz used artificial intelligence (AI) to develop the autonomous bionic sea turtle robot for ecological monitoring. The invention won the first-place prize in the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS).
“With my project, I’ve created a robot that swims underwater similarly to a sea turtle, and designed it to conduct the autonomous ecological monitoring so it’s able to detect different types of threats that may occur in an underwater environment, from coral bleaching to invasive species,” he told David Common, host of CBC Radio’s Metro Morning.
Evan, 15, was also awarded Best Project (Innovation) at the 2025 Canada-Wide Science Fair (CWSF) in Fredericton in June and was honoured with the Ellison Scholars Award, earning an all-expenses-paid trip to visit Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
EUCYS, an international event organized by the European Commission, showcases scientific talent from around the world. The 36th edition of the competition took place in Riga, Latvia, and attracts scientists aged 14 to 20 from 40 countries. The core prizes this year included 7,000 pounds (about $13,000 Cdn) for each of the four first-place winners.
Sara Waqas, 16, from Calgary was the CWSF 2025 Best Project (Discovery) winner and came in second at EUCYS. Her research focuses on treatment-resistant schizophrenia, and the prototype drug she designed aims to restore normal brain function rather than suppress symptoms.
Evan said information gathered by the robotic turtle will allow relevant organizations “to identify where these threats may be occurring, increasing awareness and supporting efforts to increase the overall health of impacted areas.”
He said he designed the robot to be as realistic as possible to a turtle, both in terms of the general design and the method of swimming it uses.
“So, essentially to swim through the water, it uses both flippers like a green sea turtle does to achieve that.”
Evan was inspired to create the robot while he was camping and observed a snapping turtle swimming.
“It had really fluidic and natural movement, which inspired me to develop this robot for ecological monitoring,” he said.
“For ecological monitoring, I want to be as low as possible in terms of disruption to the environment. So, by mimicking the turtle, I can ensure that I don’t disrupt or distract any other organisms while I’m conducting the monitor.”
Evan said he tested the device in his grandparents’ backyard pool, and in terms of its ability to detect replicated coral bleaching, he found it demonstrated an accuracy of 96 per cent.
He said the results of the testing showed the robot’s “accuracy and reliability,” and “promise for how it’s going to be able to detect these different threats in a real-world environment before they are able to significantly impact the ecosystem and cause detrimental damage.”
Reni Barlow, executive director at Youth Science Canada, said the projects by Evan and Sara demonstrate the remarkable ability of Canadian youth to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
“Evan’s success at EUCYS 2025 shows that his project is truly world class — a remarkable innovation that showcases the ability of Canadian youth to tackle complex technical and environmental challenges,” Barlow said in an email to CBC News.
Chandra Sharma, president and CEO of Conservation Halton, congratulated Evan for his project and EUCYS award.
“We applaud Evan’s design approach to monitor ecosystems without disturbing them; that is aligned with Conservation Halton’s philosophy and approach,” Sharma told CBC Hamilton in an email.
“Evan’s commitment to marine conservation and his use of innovation is incredibly inspiring, and we look forward to seeing where Evan’s work will take him — and the field of conservation overall. Keep up the great work, Evan.”
