IKEA, the Swedish furniture giant, has designed a remote-controlled boat that clears trash from water. Modeled after one of its bath toys (the SMÅKRYP to be exact), the boat is equipped with technology that can collect and store any debris it comes across in the water. Obviously, this is publicity for IKEA, but at least it’s a functional one: the boat can collect up to 44lbs of debris at a time, meaning a small fleet could keep a river relatively pristine. In London, crews clear about 295 imperial tons of waste from the River Thames every year, IKEA noted. Robotic vessels could automate more of this work and clean areas that might sometimes go neglected.
These cute robotic vessels can collect debris from rivers
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