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Fly-eating Robot

Scientists at the University of the West of England have designed a robot that does not require batteries or electricity to power itself. Instead, it generates energy by catching and eating houseflies.

Dr Chris Melhuish and his Bristol-based team hope the robot, called EcoBot II, will one day be sent into zones too dangerous for humans, potentially proving invaluable in military, security and industrial areas.

The EcoBot II powers itself in much the same way as animals feed themselves to get their energy.

https://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/12/27/explore...obot/index.html

What do you think of this crazy invention? A robot that eats fireflies - will it indeed fulfill the task it has been created for?

Robot Fly-eating

Wow, I think this is just awesome. Technology really has come far.
Think what will come in the future, perhaps Androids that actually sit with us at a table and eat with us.

Fly-eating Robot UFO & Writing Art Education Sciences

My question or concern rather would be how many houseflies would this robot need to digest to gain enough energy to carry out a simple task? I realize it is a proof-of-concept one, but unless you are in an area where houseflies are very common and readily available, then this robot would be useless. Areas that have cold weather for most of the year would be an example of this. I would think solar energy would be more feasible as this is a more available source. The use of human sewage as the bait for the houseflies also seems strange.

Robot Fly-eating

Yes, I agree. They want him to go to extreme areas where it would be dangerous for humans to go to. Most probably these areas will be dangerous for flies, too. But that's a great concept and it's at least a beginning.

Robot Fly-eating

Interesting that the article displays the image of a mosquito, but discusses houseflies... Anyway, I think it's among the first steps required to produce androids. Very interesting times we live in.

The article's final paragraph says this:

So not just insects?

Edited: FarSeer on 2nd Jan, 2004 - 12:36am

Fly-eating Robot

I guess they were talking about that kind of robots in general. I think this is a great advancement, by making the robot actually search and consume food, he is so much closer to animals and is more independent than most robots would be.

Fly-eating Robot

Although I may be entirely wrong, I would guess that any robot using such a fuel source would be able to obtain working energy from any bio-degradeable material, although rabidly-degrading material would provide faster energy. Anything decomposing gives off energy, and the law of conservation states that that energy can be used in any form.

Fly-eating Robot Sciences Education Art Writing & UFO

That is very cool. I would think from this prototype that they would be able to develop other types of `eaters`. If house flies power one, it seems like the step to plants as energy are just a small step away. Its hard to believe that in my life time I could see a robot that finds it own energy so that it is self sustaining! This is by far the greatest technological advance I have seen in my life time. Think of the endless possibilities, could we eventually see a true AI in our lifetimes?