Robot Hunts And Kills Reef Destroying Starfish

by | Sep 15, 2015 | Corals, Science | 2 comments

robotThis is pretty awesome. The Crowns Of Thorns Starfish Robot (COTSBot)is a submarine with a purpose: it hunts down crown of thorns starfish and gives them a lethal injection. The COTSBot “is designed to operate without a tether, and execute missions with minimal human interaction once deployed.” Once the robot is ready to go, it can hunt Australia’s great barrier reefs for up to six hours at a time. It uses cameras and algorithms to identify the crown of thorn starfish. Once it has targeted its prey, it hovers over the robot long enough to lower a needle and pump poison into the starfish. The vision system is 99% accurate, and the poison, harmless to other sea creatures, causes “discolored and necrotic skin, ulcerations, loss of body turgor, accumulation of colorless mucus, loss of spines and large, open sores that expose the internal organs,” according to researchers at James Cook University. Previously, this work was done by human divers. With the development of the COTSBot, this process is now entirely more efficient. This is great news considering the major problem that the Crown of Thorns Starfish poses on Australia’s reefs. The COTSBot may be just whats needed to keep up with the starfish’s rapid reproduction. MORE

  • Francis Yupangco

    Francis is a marine biologist with an MBA and over 20 years of professional aquarium experience. Francis is the former Aquatic Development Manager at Hagen USA., makers of Fluval brand aquarium products. He co-stars on Nat Geo WILD's reality TV series Fish Tank Kings where he is the resident "Fish Geek" and was Director of Marketing at Living Color Aquariums. He is an avid explorer having visited over 45 countries and lived in 7. At 17, he was among the youngest aquarists ever hired by the Vancouver Aquarium, where he worked for 7 years. His aquatic biology experience ranges from larval fish rearing to the design, construction and operational management of renowned public aquariums around the world. Francis is currently head of marketing at the world's largest vertically integrated fish farming company.

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  1. Bill Goody

    technology 1 nature 99999999999

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