Poopbots

The poop fairies have been overwhelmed, which is why you find dog feces in the park, on your sidewalks, and in your yard. When people talk about domestic robots, they usually imagine them washing dishes, but having an army of poop robots scooping up poop from our sidewalks would be more useful than breaking glasses in the kitchen, and it would improve public health. Joseph Matsen of San Jose says that he’s been working on this problem. He has a couple prototypes in his garage. The problem is that city governments find it easier to fine dog owners who don’t pick up after their own dogs than to pay for and manage poopbots, even if the poop were gathered, put into a digester, and the biogas were used to power the robots.