Dustbot the street cleaning robot

What is believed to be the world's first robot that comes to take away rubbish from your house when you want it to has been unveiled in Italy.

The Dustbot can be summoned to your address through a mobile phone any time of the day.

The robot works with a combination of GPS navigation and with a gyroscope to keep it upright. There are also a number of sensors on the machine so it does not bump into anything.

Dustbot's inventors say they hope it will put an end to fixed times for rubbish collection and they say it is designed to work in tightly packed urban areas where large refuse trucks find it difficult to operate.

A number of local authorities from around the world have already expressed an interest in it.

Duncan Kennedy went for a look at the prototype in Tuscany, Italy.