DIY Metal-Detecting Robot Platform

Finding buried treasure is one of those things that's on my to-do list but I never get around to catching up with, so I should probably give seasoned seeker John Corney a call; he's fashioned a remote control detector using a toy truck as donor.

John navigates the platform using a wireless camera, and the slow, steady progress of the machine has already had results: over 200 old coins and other relics, including some now on show in museums.  Capable of scaling even a football, apparently, John intends to develop a commercial version which he believes would be ideal for treasure hunters short on mobility.

"Anyone could use it because it is remote controlled. I hurt my back in the Gulf War and can't swing round so this is great for me and for people of all abilities to use"

As numbers of these increase, however, I can envisage a time where rival hunters compete to find the best hoard – at that point, I expect we'll see flamethrowers, cutting discs and other weaponry mounted on them too, waging tiny wars over chunks of Roman pottery.

Wiltshire Times [via Robot Gossip]