Welly Wanger
The eccentric British sport of hurling wellington boots has been given a mechanical makeover by scientists at Aberystwyth University.More commonly known as welly wanging, experts have built a machine capable of propelling a welly up to 262ft (80m).
A team has taken an engine from a concrete mixer and a gearbox from a Citroen 2CV and devised the robotic "wanger" for a TV programme.
The team's machine is set to compete in Channel 4's Scrapheap Challenge.
Team members Richard Shipman, who teaches artificial intelligence, Andy Shaw, a researcher in space robotics, and computer technician Ian Izett, have built the wanger using scrap metal and discarded mechanical parts.
Powered by a diesel engine, the wellingtons, up to six at a time, are fired from a two-metre diameter computer controlled disc which rotates at up to 250 times per minute.
