Horticulture News from Around the World:
“Robots slug it out in the killing fields” by Adrian Lee. From The Times, Jan 08, 2000.
The slug, bane of gardener and farmer alike, should be afraid. Very afraid.
Scientists have developed a robot that not only seeks and destroys the pests but is powered by fuel made from their slimy remains.
The “slugbot” prowls on a four-wheel-drive system, relies on light sensors to identify its prey and grabs it with an extendable arm. From sighting to capture takes a mere three seconds. A prototype of the killing machine, developed by engineers at the University of the West of England, in Bristol, will take to the fields in a matter of weeks.
For the moment the robot is powered by battery, but future versions will drop the slugs into a fermentation station that will break them down into methane gas to be used as fuel. Ten average-size slugs should provide an hour’s power for the robots, which will be programmed to make regular visits to the station
Dr Ian Kelly, one of four scientists working on the project, said that the slug was chosen as prey because it could not run away and an outcry over its mass slaughter was thought to be unlikely. The snail, another enemy of the gardener, got a lucky break because it has a shell that hinders decomposition.
The robot, which is 2ft high, is designed to operate at night, when slugs do most of their damage. The pests emit a different infra-red wavelength from earthworms, soil and snails. What began as a research project to create the world’s first self-sustaining robot also promises to become a commercial success.
The Soil Association welcomed the robot yesterday as an invention that could rid farmers of slugs without the need for pellets. At present, £10 million is spent each year on the chemical control of slugs.
The “slugbots”, developed over two years at a cost of £150,000, are expected eventually to work in teams and sell for about £1,000 each.