Boffin invents hi-tech drone - for picking up dog poop

Inventor Caleb Olson from Minnesota has developed the Poopcopter, a drone designed to pick up dog waste.

The Poopcopter autonomously patrols areas like backyards or parks, detects dog poop in real-time, and retrieves it using a patent-pending, 3D-printed pickup mechanism optimized for grass.

It can then either drop the waste at a designated location or perform an aerial "sky dump."

Olson is exploring options for the project, including selling the drones directly to consumers or creating a "Poopman" service where drones clean multiple yards and return waste to a van for disposal.