Sewage-eating robot generates its own energy

The San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate.com)

The premise of any science fiction movie worth its salt is robots operating in the back of beyond without human supervision for long stretches of time. (Those pesky robots do get into trouble, don't they?) Researchers at the UK's Bristol Robotics Laboratory have brought us a step closer to that prospect with the Ecobot III, the first robot capable of powering itself by consuming and excreting biomass and can run unsupervised for a full week. (H/T PhysOrg)

The bot uses microbial fuel cells to break down its food, extracting electrons from the metabolic process to run ultra low-power circuitry.

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Self-fueling robot will "eat" plants for power

The Industry Standard
Lincoln Spector, The Industry Standard01.29.2009

Robotics Technology is developing a robot that consumes biomass, such as plant material, and converts it to electricity to power itself. The whimsically-named Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR) is intended for jobs where regular, conventional fueling would be impractical, such as military recognizance.

Not surprisingly, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is funding the research.

The EATR will "forage" for its fuel, "engaging in biologically-inspired, organism-like, energy-harvesting behavior which is the equivalent of eating," according to a recently-released Robotics Technology brief. "It can find, ingest, and extract energy from biomass in the environment (and other organically-based energy sources), as well as use conventional and alternative fuels (such as gasoline, heavy fuel, kerosene, diesel, propane, coal, cooking oil, and solar) when suitable."

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