What?  A real life Wall-E picking up trash on our streets?  Yep, that's exactly what the "DustBot" research program in Italy is all about.  Wired reports that this $3.9 million dollar project is desiged to "improve urban hygiene."

The robot can pick up unwanted garbage right from citizen's doorsteps and even monitor the atmosphere for pollution.  It comes equipped with maps of the locales it will be operating in and even has sensors to detect obstacles to avoid.  It's still in a "prototype" state, but might be coming soon.

What do you think?  Would you be cool with a robotic butler patrolling the streets?  Do you think it's a magnet for graffiti artists and vandals?  A good spend of your tax dollars or a complete waste?

[Via Wired GadgetLab]

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