Tiny Aircraft Feeds Itself With Dead Flies 270
An anonymous reader writes "The research team from southwest England have built a robot which can move and transmit sensor data over a radio link powered solely by unrefined food including dead flies and apples.
The robot, known as Ecobot II, uses a Microbial Fuel Cell as its only power source. By "digesting" its own fuel, the aircraft could become autonomous and operate without the need for refueling, changing batteries or recharging from the mains. In the Microbial Fuel Cell microbes are used to extract electricity directly from food - in this case flies or apple." Several people noted this previous article on the same project.
Great Scott! (Score:5, Funny)
I think I speak for us all when I say.. (Score:5, Funny)
Excellent use for... (Score:5, Funny)
Soylent Green is people! PEOPLE!
This is friggin excellent (Score:3, Funny)
Excellent news (Score:5, Funny)
At what point.. (Score:5, Funny)
Or better yet, at what point do they decide that they want to eat our crops instead of flies/rotten apples?
I, for one, welcome our new mechanical locust overlords.
but does this mean (Score:5, Funny)
A. the apples i am attempting to eat at my picnic.
B. the flies at my picnic.
C. violation of airspace?
Waitor! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:How long until (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Great Scott! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Excellent use for... (Score:2, Funny)
Is it just me whose nervous? (Score:2, Funny)
Could you imagine flying on it and getting close to no fuel? Suddenly the pilot tells everyone, "we are looking for large patches of flies in the air to maintain the flight course, but we have no fuel left." Then boom, you crash land in an apple farm only to have the plain eat them before you do, even though it is unable to fly?
Damn tricky plains.
Re: Is that really easier? (Score:5, Funny)
> Couldn't a spybot just land on a powerline and get power from induction?
Alas, Hume demonstrated induction isn't reliable.
Re:This is friggin excellent (Score:3, Funny)
neat, but... (Score:2, Funny)
addendum (Score:3, Funny)
Said one of the scientiests, "We believe these two will really push the limits of what is possible with carnivorous robotic machines today and will do great things in the future."
Step 5 (Score:3, Funny)
Brings a whole new meaning to "Lord of the Flies"...
Re:Bow down... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Great Scott! (Score:5, Funny)
No, it's ok. They use American beer.
Re:huh? (Score:2, Funny)
The robot could even go out and get a job so it can pay for the gas.
Damn lazy robots!!
Re:How long until (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Excellent news (Score:4, Funny)
Re:....so now we have.... (Score:4, Funny)
You obviously don't work in marketing. It's called iPoop®.
Wait a sec... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:How long until (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Great Scott! (Score:5, Funny)
No, it's ok. They use American beer.
So it runs on water, then? Cool!
Re:Great Scott! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Great Scott! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Excellent news (Score:5, Funny)
Jigga-Watts (Score:2, Funny)
Re:"Tiny Aircraft Feeds Itself..." does not exist (Score:2, Funny)
Re:At what point.. (Score:1, Funny)
Just the thing for killing flies.
Wonder if it can be powered with (Score:2, Funny)
Urm (Score:2, Funny)
If it runs on dead flies (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Great Scott! (Score:2, Funny)
"It's the Ecobot II, sir. It's here."
"My God, man! Does it want tea?"
"No, I think it's after something more than that, sir. But I have noticed that all of the flies and apples are gone."
Sure it *starts* with dead flies... (Score:2, Funny)
This reminds me of "The Matrix." Eventually the robots will realize that digesting a human can provide far more power than hundreds of flies!!!