They have hit the headlines over recent years, as improper disposal has resulted in tonnes of waste making its way into the ocean.Įach year, tonnes of plastic waste fails to get recycled and dealt with correctly, which can mean they end up in marine ecosystems.Īlthough it's unclear exactly how they end up in the water, microplastics may enter through simple everyday wear and tear of clothing and carpets. Microplastics are plastic particles measuring less than five millimetres (0.2 inches).
![medusa wig medusa wig](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71FA7NPW%2BcL.jpg)
This material was then used to create the robot. Solutions of the nanosheets were then incorporated with different concentrations of polyurethane latex.įinally, the sheets were then assembled together layer-by-layer, gradually increasing the concentration of latex from one side of the sheet to the other as seen in the mother-of-pearl sheets. The researchers first made nanosheets from cyclic sugar molecules bonded to graphene - the latter known to be the toughest material on Earth. Traditional materials used for soft robots are hydrogels and elastomers, which are easily damaged in water. Professor Zhang and his team wanted to use this kind of structure in the materials used to build their robot, to emulate its durability. On one side they are made of a calcium carbonate composite, and then the layers change gradually to become mostly made of a silk protein filler on the other side. Mother-of-pearl is made up of layers of materials that differ in composition on a gradient.
![medusa wig medusa wig](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1f/5f/fa/1f5ffaa620023ce7c0f5bd36ea7c22e9.png)
Pictured is a microscopic image showing the increasing latex concentration through the sheet The sheets were then assembled together layer-by-layer, gradually increasing the concentration of latex from one side of the sheet to the other as seen in the mother-of-pearl. The materials used to create the robot are inspired by mother-of-pearl, the strong and flexible material found on the inside of clam shells. They can be harmful to animals if ingested, and are notoriously difficult to to remove from the environment - especially once settled into nooks and crannies at the bottom of rivers, streams, lakes or oceans. This ranges from large floating debris to microplastics as a result of the waste breaking down.Īccording to a study by Kyushu University scientists, there are an estimated twenty-four trillion pieces of microplastics in the ocean as of October 2021. It is estimated that between 5 and 13 million metric tons of plastic pollution enter the oceans each year. 'Furthermore, the robot can stably absorb pollutants and recover its robustness and functionality even when damaged.'
![medusa wig medusa wig](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e0/cb/9d/e0cb9dfc6d5fd867b40f25d33333c1fa.jpg)
'Its speed is comparable to that of plankton - representing the outperformance of most artificial soft robots. Project leader Professor Xinxing Zhang said: 'The proof-of-concept robot is demonstrated to emphasise its maximum swimming speed of 2.67 body length per second. This could be used in future to help remove the estimated twenty-four trillion pieces of microplastics currently in global oceans. While it swims, the self-propelling device is able to pick up nearby polystyrene microplastics, which stick to its surface through chemical bonds, and transport them elsewhere. It can move at nearly three body lengths per second - a record for soft marine robots, according to the researchers.
![medusa wig medusa wig](https://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/iew5e6yh/CC/01431_Sedusa_03.jpg)
When the light is shone onto to the 'fishtail' it bends away from the surface, and when the light is switched off it flops back, propelling the robot through the water. It measures just half-an-inch in length, meaning it can reach into tiny cracks and crevices to collect plastic pieces that would otherwise be inaccessible.ĭeveloped by a team at the Sichuan University in China, the robot has no power source, but moves thanks to flashes of near-infrared light. The tiny machine 'wiggles' its body and 'flaps' its tail fins to move through water, and could be used to help clear the oceans of plastic pollution. A fish-shaped robot that 'swims' around quickly picking up microplastics has been created by scientists.