Real-Life Wall-E Robot Helps to Clean Up Italy

He's not as cute and adorable as Pixar's Wall-E, and he probably isn't all-too familiar with Hello Dolly, but this real-life robot certainly knows how to pick up trash like his animated counterpart. The DustCart is part of a $3.9 million DustBot research program designed to help clean up the streets of Italy. According to Inhabitat, the robot "collects trash and measures atmospheric pollutants like sulfur oxide, benzene, ozone, and nitrogen oxide with its on-board sensors. The robot can even be summoned with a cell phone and can go door to door, identify residents with a personal ID number, and sort their trash into organic, recyclable, or waste!"

Like Wall-E, the robot detects the trash then sticks it into its belly and takes it to a waste management site. It's still in its infancy stage and isn't yet allowed to roam the streets without a human there to guide it, but it does go to show that the future predicted by Pixar may not be too far off from reality. Check out a few images of the DustCart below.



[via John T.]