Scientists have created a tiny robot-fish to remove microplastics from the oceans. This 13-mm-long fish will swim around, absorbing microplastics as they pass through its body.
This fish is unique in that its body is soft, flexible, and self-healing. It is also a fish that propels itself. The fish can swim and flap around at nearly 30 mm per second thanks to a light laser system in its tail. It’s comparable to the rate at which plankton drifts in moving water.
The robo-fish was created using materials inspired by elements found in the sea, such as mother-of-pearl or nacre. It has been used to line the interiors of clam shells.
A material similar to nacre was created by layering various microscopic sheets of molecules in accordance with the chemical gradient of nacre. According to the study, it is also stretchy, flexible to twist, and can pull a weight of up to 5 kg.
This fish will contribute to resolving the world’s growing microplastics problem.
“It is critical to develop a robot capable of accurately collecting and sampling harmful microplastic pollutants from the aquatic environment.” “To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of such soft robots,” said Yuyan Wang, a researcher at Sichuan University’s Polymer Research Institute. Wang was one of the study’s lead authors, and it was published in the journal ‘Nano Letters.’
