William tries out a new set of wheels

The Prince of Wales has road tested a lightweight mobility scooter during a visit to a pioneering robotics facility.

William visited a number of ventures driving innovation in science, technology, engineering and sustainbility in Bristol on Wednesday and Thursday.

The prince revealed that he himself has an e-scooter as he tried out the mobility scooter developed by the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, and joked he likes ones that go fast.

The scooter was designed to improve safety for users, and to glide over difficult surfaces like cobbles and curb stones.

The lab is a joint enterprise between the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England.

Among the inventions on display were "smart socks" developed for people with neurological disorders like dementia.

Zeke Steer, who launched the venture, explained: "(The socks) detect rising levels of distress that a person with dementia may have, giving carers a window of opportunity to alleviate that distress before it escalates."

He said the prince was very interested in how the socks might help the government's mission to provide care in the community "in a more preventative way".

Judith Squires, deputy vice president of the University of Bristol, explained many of the technologies the lab is developing are designed to meet the challenges posed by an aging population.

"Thinking about ways we can support people to live independent, dignified lives is going to be a game changer," she said.

Squires added it was a "real honour" the prince had taken the time to visit the lab and understand its work.

Earlier in the day, William visited Matter - a former finalist for his Earthshot Prize, which develops microplastic filtration systems.

He revealed that he and the Princess of Wales have fitted one of Matter's devices to their own washing machine.

William was shown a ball of red microfibres captured from an estimated 10 washes of red towels, as well as two plastic boxes of microfibres from a machine that has been developed to tackle the issue in textile manufacturing.

"I'm genuinely horrified. I can't get over the size," he said.

"Companies must have known how much stuff they are washing away."

The prince also visited University of Bristol's Isambard-AI, the UK's most powerful supercomputer, and NCC - which develops new composites and materials.

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