Scientists have built robots capable of completing all sorts of tasks. We've seen robots that can walk up steps, play the violin, and make a salad. Larry, a robot being used by researchers at the University of Cambridge, can't do any of that, but it can do one thing really well: vomit.
Researchers are using Vomiting Larry to study noroviruses, a group of viruses that cause stomach and intestinal inflammation which results in vomiting. Though they're thought to have originated in Norwalk, Ohio in 1972, norovirus cases frequently occur in the U.K. during the winter months. The scientists are using Larry to try and figure out a way to tame the outbreak.
So far they've discovered that when a person with a norovirus vomits, tiny particles carrying the virus become airborne and can infect people up to 10 feet away. Peep the video above to see Vomiting Larry in action and to learn more about the seemingly unbeatable virus.
[BBC News via DVICE]
