Chinese scientists say they have invented a robot fish they hope can help rid the oceans of microplastics, according to a report.
The devices can absorb the plastics, microscopic remnants of bottles, bags, straws, paint, and even tires, that threaten the ecosystem. The plastics, smaller than a grain of rice, are now found in all species of fish and have worked their way up the food chain to humans.
“It is of great significance to develop a robot to accurately collect and sample detrimental microplastic pollutants from the aquatic environment,” Yuyan Wang, a researcher at the Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University and one of the lead authors on the study, told The Guardian. “To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of such soft robots.”
