Friendly House Worm – Fukitorimushi

An inchworm that inches its way around floors and furniture to collect dust sounds rather creepy but looks exactly the opposite. This new invention demonstrated by Panasonic at the Tokyo Fiber Senseware Expo in Milan is known as Fukitorimushi. It looks surprisingly adorable as it is totally covered in Nanofront, a nanofiber polyester fabric which can absorb oil and attract small particles of dust.

The brainchild of Teijin Ltd., this innovative service bot comprises thousands of polyster filament fibers measuring 7,500x finer than human hair. Once the device detects dirt through blue-white light, it flashes red and begins rubbing its underbelly against the surface until the dirty patch is cleaned up. It is also smart enough to navigate its way back to the charging station when the battery runs low. The nanocloth not only cleans but acts as a pet. It has to be replaced periodically.