Scientists have developed and created fish-shaped robots to swim and collect microplastics from the nooks and crannies of the oceans.
Microplastics, small plastic particles that can be harmful to marine animals when ingested, settle at the bottom of waterways and are difficult to remove from the environment.
That is why Chinese scientists have developed a small self-propelled robot that can “swim” in hard-to-reach places in the oceans and clean them.
Xinxing Zhang and his fellow researchers wanted to create a durable new material for the robot, since elastomers and hydrogels, commonly used to make soft robots, are easily damaged in marine environments.
Nacre, also known as ‘mother of pearl’, found inside clam shells, has layers of compounds of calcium carbonate polymer and mineral and a protein filler mainly silk that makes them strong and flexible.
Using mother-of-pearl as a base, the research team linked the cyclodextrin with the sulfonated grapheme to create composite nanosheets which were then converted into polyurethane latex blends.
Layer by layer, the research team formed a fish-shaped robot from 15 millimeters long and able to swim in confined spaces.
The robot is capable of moving 2.75 body lengths per second with the use of a near-infrared laser that causes the tail to lash when rapidly turned on and off, propelling it forward .
The robot can absorb polystyrene microplastics in the water and transport them to another place.
Meanwhile, the researchers showed that the material can heal itself after suffering damage and therefore maintains its ability to absorb microplastics continuously, adding that the robots could be used to monitor pollution levels in harsh marine environments.
The research team said it received funding from the Sichuan Natural Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Key Research and Development Program of China.
Research leader Xinxing Zhang said, “The proof-of-concept robot has been shown to emphasize its maximum swimming speed of 2.67 body length per second ”.
“Its speed is comparable to that of plankton, which represents the superior performance of most artificial soft robots”, he added.
It is estimated that there about 24 bill millions of pieces of microplastic in the world’s oceans, according to a study by the University of Kyushu.
The pieces of plastic can be harmful to animals if they are ingested, especially once they settle on the bottom of our rivers, lakes and oceans.
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