Soft to the touch and just 1.3 centimeters (0.5 inches) in size, these robots are already scooping up microplastics in shallow water. The team aims to enable them to collect microplastics in deeper waters and provide information for real-time marine pollution analysis, said Wang Yuyan, one of the researchers who developed the robot. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register “We developed such a light tiny robot. It can be used in many ways, for example in biomedical or dangerous operations, such a small robot that can be located on a part of your body to help you eliminate a disease.” A fish-shaped robot, which researchers say can suck up microplastics in shallow water, moves under the direction of a near-infrared (NIR) light, in this screen grab from a video handout provided to Reuters on July 12 2022. Zhang Xinxing research team from Polymer Research Institute, Sichuan University/Briefing via REUTERS read more The black robot fish radiates a light, helping it to flap its fins and move its body. Scientists can control fish using light to avoid crashing into other fish or ships. If accidentally eaten by other fish, it can be digested without harm because it is made of polyurethane, which is also biocompatible, Wang said. The fish is able to absorb pollutants and recover itself even when damaged. It can swim up to 2.76 body lengths per second, faster than most artificial soft robots. “We mainly work on (microplastics) collection. It’s like a sampling robot and it can be used repeatedly,” he said. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Xiaoyu Yin and Mark Chisholm, written by Farah Master. Edited by Emelia Sithole-Matarise Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
