8/12/2005

Here’s a goldfish catching robot for Japan’s SEVERE petshop boy shortage via NHK News in Japanese. Watch a video of the dork-bot in action here by clicking on the botton labeled VIDEO .

The name of the goldfish scooping robot Poi-Poi-kun (ポイポイ君). It took the Nara Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology three years to create Poi-Poi-kun which can catch up to ten goldfish in minute.
Ok, ok, this robot is not as demented as it sounds. Goldfish scooping Kingyo Sukui(金魚すくい) is a traditional summer festival carnival-type game of chance for children. Kids pay 100yen to try scoop small goldfish using a spoop made only of a loop of wire and a fragile paper membrane. It’s a lot harder than it looks. There’s even an All-Japan Kingyo Sukui championship in Koriyama—the human record is only about 60 fish in one minute so at ten per minute the Poi-poi-kun has a long way to go. To read more go to: PFK (practicalfishkeeping.co.uk) Fish News | Scientists develop robot to catch goldfish.