Bacteria-destroying robot could replace antibiotics: Dutch inventer

Dutch inventors are working on a robot that can solve one of the biggest problems of the coming decades - antibiotic resistant bacteria. This robot SID, which stands for See, Identify and Destroy, can be programmed to destroy very specific bacteria.

The robot is being developed by the Troika Foundation, a non-profit foundation aimed at creating public awareness for bacteriophages - a virus that infects and replicates within bacterium and which can be used to destroy the said bacterium.

The foundation believes that antibiotic resistance can be solved with a method that quickly identifies, targets and eliminates the bacteria. "Our SID innovation is develped to do just that. It sees, identifies and destroys antibiotic resistant bacteria with the use of a natural method: bacteriophages", according to the foundations website. The SID combines bacteriophages with two other components meant to find and indentify the bacteria.

Troika believes that SID can be used to fight bacteria in food production, agriculture and the healthcare sector.