Watch This Now: A Pollution-Eating Robot

Though they’ve been the subject of much fear– see: any of the Terminator movies– most robots lately are here to help. The latest is “Row-bot,” which was built to clean up pollution and which powers itself by ingesting dirty water. The microbial fuel cells neutralize algal blooms as well as oil slicks; the hope is that eventually the robots can become biodegradable, and can be sent out by themselves to conquer whatever contaminations they may encounter out in the world.

Below roboticist Jonathan Rossiter (the mind behind “Row-bot”) discusses his creation in a TEDxWarwick talk.