Robot Eats Flies to Generate Power

ms47 writes "Interesting little story over at MSNBC today about 'robots that can be sent into dangerous or inhospitable areas to carry our remote industrial or military monitoring of, say, temperature or toxic gas concentrations.' The neat part is it's powered by 'catching flies and digesting them in special fuel cells.'"

Comments

Misread the title as

[Anonymous Coward]

"Robot Eats Files to Generate Power" and thought that's not such a great idea.

Re:Misread the title as

[Gentlewhisper]

OMG! In the future when our world population is exploding would this headline change to "Robot Eats humans to Generate Power"?

Or even how about "Robot Eats fat humans to Generate Power"?

Damned, /. should tie up with some gym to get discount prices for its viewers!!!

Re: Misread the title as

[shigelojoe]

So now your *robotic* dog can eat your homework too!

Attractive?

[romper]

"...it will have to use sewage or excrement to attract the flies and is bound to smell appalling."

Something tells me it'll fit right in here. =)

They're called, "Flowers"

[RobertB-DC]

"One of the great things about flies is that you can get them to come to you," he said. Hence the downside of the fully autonomous robot: it will have to use sewage or excrement to attract the flies and is bound to smell appalling.

Hello, McFly! I think our photosynthetic brethren figured out the solution to this problem a few gazillion years ago. The answer is flowers!

It sounds like these researchers are already taking this behemoth as their example. Great: I, for one, welcome our new Giant Corpse Flower overlords. But why not jump forward a few million years? A rose by any other name, you know.

On the other hand, nobody cares if the robot eats house flies. Butterflies might be another thing altogether. Won't someone please think of the Butterflies?

Overheard in a remote jungle...

[TWX]

"Heeeeelllp Meeeeee! Heeeeeellllp Meeee!"

Flies

[ackthpt]

The neat part is it's powered by 'catching flies and digesting them in special fuel cells.'"

Yep, sounds like like elementary school..

It's name

[Aadain2001]

Are they going to call it Kermit the Bot?

If they are going into toxic environments

[10000000000000000000]

they need to watch out for the flies that eat robots!

Re:If they are going into toxic environments

[cHiphead]

Only in Soviet Russia...

Now what do I do?

[joeldixon66]

So a robot's been created that eats flies while covered in fecal matter, to monitor toxic gas concentrations?

Just another example of how technology is being used to take job opportunities away from me.

Wait...

[Lord Kano]

is a robot that kills and uses living things really all that good of an idea? Sure, flies are annoying and can really ruin a picnic, but someting about arbitrarily deciding that they are not worthy of life somehow seems wrong.

OK, I lied. I think this is great! Animal rights zealots an fuck off.

LK

Hm

[shutdown -p now]

If the firmware is open-sourced, someone could make a version which preys on SCO executives...

Re:Hm

[tool462]

Just have the robot's tongue look like a check for $699 made out to "cash" and they'll walk right in :)

Re:Hm

[penguinoid]

If the firmware is open-sourced, someone could make a version which preys on SCO executives...

If the firmware is open-sourced, it will already attract SCO executives.

I can see the headlines already, "SCO sues robotic fly-eating overlords"

An Ecoligical Disaster

[krygny]

If the delicate balance of the world's fly population is upset, dog shit production in my back yard will be out of control.

Re:They're called, "Frogs"

[turnstyle]

I say the robot should catch the flies, and then use them to lure frogs. Imagine the power.

It can't just be me

[JayBlalock]

SURELY these scientists have seen enough movies to realize that making a farking CARNIVOROUS robot is a bad, bad, BAD idea.

Not to mention, making it "release and forget?" Yay! Invincible autonomous robot predators! WHEEEE!

To quoth Jeff Goldblum: This is the worst idea in a long, sad history of bad ideas.

Hmmmm

[Anonymous Coward]

We have a robot that can fail because there aren't enough bugs in the system?

Re:Hmmmm

[Negaiss]

actually you are free to digest flies then use the sugars in their bodies to generate energy and monitor toxic environments too

uberfrog

[ktulus cry]

This is no big deal at all. Like none of us have ever strapped a model rocket engine and a disposable camera to a frog before. Well... maybe that was just me...

A Poll?

[ackthpt]

"...it will have to use sewage or excrement to attract the flies and is bound to smell appalling."

Something tells me it'll fit right in here. =)

Fly Topping?

WD40

3-in-1

Marvel Mystery Oil

STP Oil Treatment

Liquid Wrench

10w30

Ehylene Glycol

Missing option: I eat my flies straight up, you insensitive clod!

Re:A Poll?

[maeka]

I only use Mom's Old Fashioned Robot Oil you insensitive clod!

Hmmmm

[TheMeuge]

A machine that can digest flies, then use the sugars in their bodies to generate energy! How ingenious. Oh, wait - it's called a FROG.

Bender?

[canadacow]

So how long will it be before we have robots that run on beer?

Robot Eats, Flies to Generate Power

[FuzzyBad-Mofo]

There was a little robot who swallowed a fly.
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
I guess she'll fry.

There was a little robot who swallowed a spider
That wiggled and jiggled and tickled insider her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
I guess she'll fry.

There was a little robot who swallowed a bird.
How absurd! To swallow a bird!
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wiggled and jiggled and tickled insider her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
I guess she'll fry.

There was a little robot who swallowed a cat.
Imagine that! She swallowed a cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird.
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wiggled and jiggled and tickled insider her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
I guess she'll fry.

There was a little robot who swallowed a cat.
Imagine that! She swallowed a cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird.
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wiggled and jiggled and tickled insider her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
I guess she'll fry.

There was a little robot who swallowed a dog.
What a hog! She swallowed a dog.
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird.
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wiggled and jiggled and tickled insider her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
I guess she'll fry.

There was a little robot who swallowed a goat.
She opened her throat and in walked a goat.
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog.
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird.
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wiggled and jiggled and tickled insider her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
I guess she'll fry.

There was a little robot who swallowed a cow.
I don't know how she swallowed that cow.
She swallowed the cow to catch the goat.
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog.
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird.
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wiggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
I guess she'll fry.

There was a little robot, she swallowed a horse.
She fried, of course.

(whew)

Why does the lameness filter care how many characters per line a post contains? Your comment violated the "postercomment" compression filter. Try less whitespace and/or less repetition. Comment aborted. Why does the lameness filter care how many characters per line a post contains? Why does the lameness filter care how many characters per line a post contains? Your comment violated the "postercomment" compression filter. Try less whitespace and/or less repetition. Comment aborted. Why does the lameness filter care how many characters per line a post contains? Why does the lameness filter care how many characters per line a post contains? Why does the lameness filter care how many characters per line a post contains? Why does the lameness filter care how many characters per line a post contains? Why does the lameness filter care how many characters per line a post contains?

Re:The Matrix

[Neuroelectronic]

nerd obligation #1: reference to the matrix

nerd obligation #2: using any means necessary to defend use of #1

---
Get a free iPod, for real. Just Start an AOL trial, get verified (2 weeks), then cancel it!

Dr. Evil

[kjs3]

Is it just me or does the idea of a feces-encrusted robot that eats living things to generate power sound like something Dr. Evil would think of?

All I want is a friggin shit-covered death-bot...is that so much to ask?

I misread the title as well

[Zork the Almighty]

I was thinking, "this robot would be great for Enron or something."

Re:But Toxic environments kill flies???

[WormholeFiend]

maybe the robots will bring their own supply of flies with them in a special jar, i dunno?

[/dumb]

flesh eating robots are bad, mkay

[davesag]

i mean what part of "thou shalt not build flesh eating robots" don't these people understand. It's a pretty basic lesson to learn you'd think, but no.... has sci-fi taught these people nothing!