A Robot That Kills Starfish for Saving the Great Barrier Reef

A robot that kills Starfish with great efficiency. But why??

COTSbot, a robot designed by scientists would soon be on the killing spree. But the killing would be for a noble cause. It would be to save the Great Barrier Reef which is struggling to save its coral from the menace caused by hordes of Crown of Thorns Starfish.

It was five decades ago that the scientists warned about the destruction that could be caused by these spiny starfish. When they attack the reefs, they do so in large numbers. There have been three such attacks since the 1960s. Today, we are in the middle of fourth such attack. The damage caused by starfish is devastating. It is second only to cyclones.

Up until now, the task of killing the starfish was on human divers who killed starfish by using a cattle bile solution. Thousands of starfish have been killed by using this solution. But the Great Barrier Reef is big. The number of divers to wipe out the starfish is not enough.

That’s where COTSbot comes in. Designed by two scientists from Queensland University, the robot can work for 8 hours non-stop and get rid of 200 starfish in this duration. The robot is loaded with programs that helps in distinguishing starfish from other creatures. With many such robots in action, it will surely help in wiping the starfish.