Pikapoo Dog Waste Pick-Up Robot by Yihan Luo and Zihang Zheng is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 A' Design Award in Robotics, Automaton and Automation Design Competition Category.
IronRobotics· 2025
Pikapoo Dog Waste Pick-Up Robot
Client: Yihan Luo and Zihang Zheng
A' Design Award Winner in Robotics Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #172728The Design
About Pikapoo Dog Waste Pick-Up Robot
With nearly 900 million dogs owned worldwide, dog waste management has become a growing environmental concern. Research indicates that up to 50% of owners neglect cleanup in secluded areas due to inconvenience or misinformation. Pikapoo introduces a smart robotic solution consisting of the PooBot, an autonomous robot that locates and collects dog waste, and the PooBase, a connected composting unit that transforms waste into fertilizer. The entire system is managed via a user-friendly mobile application.
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award
Pikapoo Dog Waste Pick-Up Robot is an Iron A' Design Award winner, a prestigious recognition granted to good designs that meet the professional and industrial requirements expected from well-designed creations. Iron winners demonstrate great skill, high specialization, expert understanding, and creative capacity of their creators. Pikapoo Dog Waste Pick-Up Robot is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished creation that is practical and innovative. This Iron A' Design Award-winning design integrates industry best practices and has competent technical characteristics linked with know-how and talent. Pikapoo Dog Waste Pick-Up Robot is respected for its thoroughness and is designed to provide quality of life improvements that help make the world a better place.
Where to Get It
Robotics and Automation Design Services
We create innovative robotic solutions for environmental and social challenges. Our interdisciplinary team combines automation expertise with sustainable design thinking to deliver transformative systems. From research to prototyping, we help organizations develop intelligent solutions that benefit communities and ecosystems.
Request QuoteBehind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- With approximately 900 million dogs owned globally, studies show that up to 50% of dog owners skip cleanup in secluded areas due to inconvenience and misconceptions. Dog waste harms the environment and disrupts public spaces. Pikapoo addresses this issue with a smart robotic system: the PooBot (a poop-collecting robot) that picks up waste, and the PooBase (a smart composting unit) that converts it into fertilizer, all managed through an app.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 457.2 mm x 355.6 mm x 304.8 mm / 12.5KG
- Tags
- Robotics, Pet, Eco-Friendly Design, Sustainability, User-Centric Design, Social Impact
- Production Technology
- When PooBot deposits waste into PooBase, a specialized catalyzer containing all-natural microorganisms—including lactic acid bacteria, yeasts, photosynthetic bacteria, actinomycetes, and fungi—initiates the transformation of waste into nutrient-rich organic fertilizer. These microorganisms accelerate waste breakdown, eliminate odors, and neutralize harmful pathogens. Once the composting process is complete, part of the fertilizer is released into the surrounding soil to enrich it, while the remainder is transferred back to PooBot for even distribution across the lawn.
- Design Challenge
- The biggest challenge for Pikapoo is figuring out how to recycle dog feces in a way that benefits both the environment and dog owners. For dog owners, we identified an opportunity: in our product Poobot, we designed a system that transforms dog feces into a stool sample for health checks, which can then be picked up by a courier. To support environmental sustainability, Poobot sends the remaining waste to Poobase, where a built-in catalyzer processes the feces into fertilizer.
- Research
- For Pikapoo, we conducted a field research expedition to identify the problem: dog feces near gardens and plants were often left uncollected. Through secondary research, we found that improperly disposed dog feces contain enough bacteria to contaminate soil within a 20-mile radius. Additionally, we gathered feedback from over 100 dog-owning families. Many of them believed that dog poop is beneficial to the soil—but this is a misconception.
- Inspiration
- Cleaning up after pets is tedious, messy, and unpleasant. The diversity among dog owners can make it inconvenient for some to pick up dog waste; for example, elderly individuals may have difficulty bending down, and busy professionals may lack the time. When owners neglect this task, it results in unpleasant sights and polluted, unhealthy land. Pikapoo leverages robotic technology equipped with advanced olfactory and image recognition to offer an efficient solution.
- Project Duration
- Project was initiated since 2019 in Beijing, China. It has gone through rounds of variation and refinement, eventually finished in 2024 in Los Angeles.
- Operation Flow
- Pikapoo is just one click away. Through the app, users request a PooBot to collect dog waste. After collection, the PooBot takes a sample for health monitoring, which is later delivered to the vet. The remaining waste is transported to the nearest PooBase, where it’s composted into organic fertilizer while the PooBot charges wirelessly.
- Team Members
- Industrial Designer: Zihang (Matt) Zheng
Design Research and UIUX Designer: Yihan (Sakura) Luo - Image Credits
- All Copyright Yihan Luo, Zihang Zheng
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