TCD
A new robot dog developed by scientists is sniffing out invasive fire ants using artificial intelligence, according to a writeup by the Society of Chemical Industry in TechXplore.
The research team, spread across Brazil and China, trained the cyberpup to identify red imported fire ants, which are wreaking havoc in environments across the globe. The robot dogs are pretty good at their job, too. According to researchers, they identify three times more nests with greater precision compared to human inspectors.
The red imported fire ant is native to central South America, but it has established itself in the United States and Australia, and it has been reported in other parts of the world, like Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Trinidad and Tobago, per the University of Florida. More
Now, there’s an application of robotics I wholeheartedly applaud.
Anyone who’s ever been bitten by one of those satanic micro-monsters will likely agree. BTW, at least for my own body chemistry, applying a freshly cut piece of lemon or lime is instantly pain-killing.
If you’re looking for a different sort of analgesic, go to youtube and search for fire ant nest molten aluminum.
Imported South American Fire ants are the easiest ant to take care of. We even have a product that will keep them out of your property for a full year, but in reality, it may be 3-4 years before they start to re-establish themselves there.
Uncle Al – they sting, not bite. They may use their mandibles to get a better grip on you to sting you better, but there is nothing delivered in their “bite”.
They are all females. Their stingers are re-purposed ovipositors.
I’m always happy to hear I’m called out for fire ants. Easy Peasy. Who needs a robot? You can even use your bare foot to see if they are fire ants. lol
Yeah, not surprised they are showing up all over the world. They are, literally, imported everywhere. They came to America in a shipping port in Louisiana and spread from there. We started fighting them in the Dallas area in 1985 and now they are everywhere you look around here.
Thar’s gold in them thar antz! Said the bugman…
I saw fire ant hills that were the size of small cars in Georgia in the 70s. Back then some people were burning smaller nests in their yards with gas, usually took a few applications. Every year or two there would be a news story about some toddler being stung to death.
I seem to remember killer robot dogs in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Is reality finally catching up with dystopic fiction?
Moved back to VA from SC in 2000. One of the (huge), simple pleasures of being back, was being able to walk outside and sit anywhere on the ground, not giving it a second thought.
On walks, I have found that most actual dogs manage to find and stupidly step on fire ant hills without any prompting.