Pest Rover

Summary: The Virginia Military Institute has developed a robotic pest removal system for outdoor use allowing landscape contractors or homeowners to implement a safer eco-friendly alternative to conventional pesticide spraying. The system has been prototyped using ticks. The robotic rover traverses the property. An emitted chemoattractant lures the pests toward the rover while its rear collection system coated in a commonly used insecticide kills and gathers the insects. If desired following each circling of the property the rover enters a fully-automated shed wherein the robot is recharged cleaned of pests and recoated with insecticide. In the case of ticks repeated use over the early tick life cycle (from larva to adult) during spring and summer results in tick eradication lasting several years. Detailed Technology Description: An autonomous robotic system and method for removing pests from a specific location. The robotic system of the invention preferably comprises a means for attracting pests to at least one specific location; and a robotic means for collecting and/or exterminating pests attracted to the specified location. In certain embodiments the robotic means comprises a mobile robot and a means for navigating the robotic means. In operation pests are attracted to at least one location by an attracting means and these pests are then collected and/or exterminated by a mobile autonomous robot of the invention.