So New Scientist recommends in a new report on an artificial gut that allows robots to become self-sustaining [1]:
[F]ood-munching robots have been demonstrated in the past, often generating power with the help of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) [2] – bio-electrochemical devices that enlist cultures of bacteria to break down food to generate power. Until now, though, no one had tackled the messy but inevitable issue of finding a way to evacuate the waste these bugs produce.
What was needed was an artificial gut, says Chris Melhuish [3], director of the Bristol Robotics Lab in the UK. He has spent three years with Ioannis Ieropoulos [4] and colleagues working up the concept. The result: Ecobot III.
“Diarrhoea-bot would be more appropriate,” Melhuish admits. “It’s not exactly knocking out rabbit pellets.” Even so, he says, it marks the first demonstration of a biomass-powered robot that can operate unaided for some time.
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The work will be presented at the Artificial Life [5] conference in Odense, Denmark, next month. The next step is to explore how the robot will cope with a heartier meal, namely flies.