Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Termibot robot exterminator kills termites, heralds terrifying future





Termites be warned: Australian outfit Termicam is bringing the noise
Predator-style with the Termibot, a dual-tread thermal imaging robot
designed to eliminate insects. The bot scoots around inside walls and
under houses relaying information from its thermal camera and moisture
sensors back to an operator, and when termite (or other insect)
activity is detected, it uses a probe to smash the nest and inject
pesticides directly where they're needed. While we're not certain we
need to help robots perfect the techniques they'll use to ferret out
the last remnants of the human resistance, we're not too worried yet --
the Termibot is currently tethered to its operator with a long cable.
The designer says a fully wireless version is in the works and will be
brought to market later this year, however -- it's being held up while
the business experiences some growing pains. Termicam also says they're
also looking to expand the uses for the bot to other applications where
that thermal camera might come in handy, like bomb disposal and search
and rescue -- looks like the PackBot's got some competition.













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