Now, a robot that eats and poos!
July 21st, 2010 - 3:08 pm ICT by ANIMelbourne, July 21 (ANI): Technicians in the UK have built a robot that can eat and also excrete its waste.
Ecobot III, which was created by the Bristol Robotics Laboratory in the UK, functions by tucking into a daily bowl of soup, which is washed down by the odd sip of water it generates in the process.
Ecobot III, also known as ‘BreadBot’, is guided towards its food by a light source, and it gulps down the soup into an artificial gut with two ’stomachs’ full of bacteria.
The bacteria then processes the sewage ‘mash’ and 24 microbial fuel cells harvest its hydrogen and split it up into various useful forms.
While the hydrogen electrons generate the electric current, which powers the robot, hydrogen ions are sent to a separate chamber where they mix with oxygen to create water.
The robot drinks some of the water, and the rest goes back to help it pump out poo every 24 hours that’s gathered via gravity feed in a trough.
“It’s not exactly knocking out rabbit pellets. Diarrhoea-bot would be more appropriate,” News.com.au quoted Bristol Robotics Lab director Chris Melhuish as saying.
Bristol went on to say that BreadBot can process a much greater range of food, including waste water, which could shore up a future for it in dredging and filtering our sewers.
Ecobot III will make its first official public appearance on August 19, at the Artificial Life conference in Denmark. (ANI)
- Soon, urine to be used as power source for robots - Aug 04, 2010
- Artificial muscles made of hydrogen can make domestic robots silent - Oct 21, 2009
- 2,000-year-old poo reveals Romans' rich diet - Jun 15, 2011
- Robotic jellyfish invented - Mar 21, 2012
- Man-made photosynthesis to boost food output - Feb 19, 2012
- Low cost 'Poo-Gloos' can clean sewage effectively - Jan 10, 2011
- Artificial skin with optical sensors to give robots 'humanly' touch - Dec 02, 2009
- 'Near human' bots to 'perform surgeries, harvest crops' - Oct 24, 2010
- Mimicking photosynthesis key to inexpensive solar-powered jet fuel - Feb 21, 2011
- 'Holy Grail' of science, world's first practical 'artificial leaf' unveiled - Mar 28, 2011
- Fish deaths in Yamuna shock pilgrims - Jan 15, 2012
- Scientists design robots that walk on water - Aug 01, 2011
- Snobbish bugs prefer coffee for beverage - Jun 08, 2011
- Essar Steel commissions Phase 1 of Odisha pellet plant - Apr 09, 2012
- 'Poo-powered' car hits Bristol streets - Aug 06, 2010
Tags: artificial gut, artificial life, august 19, diarrhoea, director chris, electric current, electrons, gravity feed, hydrogen ions, lab director, light source, mash, microbial fuel cells, public appearance, rabbit pellets, robotics lab, robotics laboratory, sewers, stomachs, waste water