Meet the Chinese fish robots that can ‘eat’ microplastics – and maybe help clean up oceans


Source: scmp.com scmp.com

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It’s small, soft, eats microplastics and, with time, might be able to analyse marine pollution in real time. Scientists in southwest China say they have developed a self-propelled robot fish that can wiggle its body, flap its “fins” and swim around to suck microplastics out of the water. In a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nano Letters on June 22, researchers from Sichuan University in southwest China said the robot could also “self-heal” and absorb microplastics even when damaged. For now, the soft robot only collects microplastics in the shallows. Mussels, lobsters and oysters: microplastic pollution finds way into...