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SlugBot, the Slug-Powered Slug-Hunting Robot

Posted by Roblimo on from the gross-but-true dept.

Adam Foster writes "SlugBot is no ordinary robot. SlugBot hunts down slugs, and is powered by fermenting the slugs' corpses, producing biogas fuel. Find out more from the BBC."

8 of 166 comments (clear)

  1. I have that comic. by rde · · Score: 3

    Saltman versus the slugbots #1 ; great comic. The slugbots never had a chance.

    Seriously, though. A robot that draws its power from the decomposing bodies of its victims. How cool is that?

  2. Salt Shaker by Maniacal · · Score: 3

    They should just equip the end of it with a salt shaker. That'll take care of the slugs. Double it as a margarita maker and I'm sold.

    Mike

    Like Grandpa always said, "It's mine, I can wash it as long as I want to."

    --
    MG
    1. Re:Salt Shaker by Gid1 · · Score: 5

      Fields of slugs being bred purely for electrical supply, harvested by robots.

      I can just imagine a little slug-hovercraft searching for the little slug known as "Neo".

    2. Re:Salt Shaker by Mithy · · Score: 4

      "I bet you wish you'd eaten the blue leaf."

      :)

      --
      "This isn't the post you're looking for. Move along."

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      --
      "This isn't the post you're looking for. Move along."
  3. No more beer by derwisch · · Score: 3

    I immediately sent the link to my mother, who has
    for long times trapped slugs with glasses of beer embedded in the ground. Unfortunately these traps attracted loads of slugs from neighbours. Of course, for 1,5kQ you can buy quite a couple of crates of beer instead.

  4. This is kind of scary. by Lonesmurf · · Score: 3

    Let's give this some thought: A robot that feeds and recharges itself from it.

    Very quickly we can make the connection that this is a possibility for a very frightening future.. or a really bad B-rated sci-fi flick.

    --

    --

    rJames.org - illustration
  5. Evolutionary pressure... by chazR · · Score: 4

    If you deploy something like this on a large scale, you are adding an evolutionary pressure to the slug's environment. Speculating idly on how the slug's genome may respond:

    Lower their metabolic rate so they show up less well on IR, or change shape so they don't look like slugs to the robot (stealth slugs).

    Become too large for the thing to pick up (yuck)

    Develop a mechanism so their exothermic decomposition becomes *much* faster. Exploding slugs (ultra-yuck)

    There is at least one species of slug (huge brownish ones - too lazy to look up classification) that feeds primarily on other slugs. It would be interesting to do a trial to see if these could be used effectively for slug control. I'm not doing it though. Watching one slug eat another is easily the grossest thing I have ever seen.

  6. Re:Heaven forbid... by webslacker · · Score: 4

    If they ever made a powered snotbot.