Just one year after Disney’s adorable movie Wall-E was released, Italian researchers have created their very own intelligent trash collector called DustCart.

DustCart will travel from door to door collecting garbage and recyclables from citizens. It will also pick up trash, wash and disinfect the streets and provide information on air quality.

The adorable bot is part of a 3.9 million dollar research project called DustBot that hopes to use artificial intelligence to keep streets clean. DustBot started in 2006 and aims to end this year.

According to a story in the Global Post, DustCart can be called to citizens’ front doors and pick up garbage after residents punch in their identification numbers and classify their waste. The robot sorts the trash as organic, recyclable or waste then puts it in it’s belly and transports the garbage to a local facility.

DustCart is made to operate in partially unstructured environments like parks, streets and squares, says the DustBot Web site. It uses maps and external sensors to allow the robot to move around on it’s own.

DustCart is still in it’s prototype stage because it doesn’t have the quick response time needed on crowded streets but the robot has been amazing residents in it’s test town, Peccioli, Italy.

Designers anticipate “human acceptance” as one of the obstacles to premiering such intelligent trash collection. However, with such a cute and friendly looking design, I doubt we’ll have much trouble welcoming the little guy to our neighborhoods.

Check out more of DustCart’s photo shoot here.