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Tiny Aircraft Feeds Itself With Dead Flies

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the take-me-to-your-weevil dept.

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.

14 of 270 comments (clear)

  1. Great Scott! by andyrut · · Score: 4, Funny

    This sounds just like Mr. Fusion! Definitely more effective if you pour the beer out of the can and then toss in the container.

    1. Re:Great Scott! by PoopJuggler · · Score: 5, Funny

      What a waste of beer. Is free unlimited clean energy really worth the price??

    2. Re:Great Scott! by lovebyte · · Score: 5, Funny

      What a waste of beer.
      No, it's ok. They use American beer.

      --

      I'll do it for cheesy poofs.

    3. Re:Great Scott! by sczimme · · Score: 5, Funny


      No, it's ok. They use American beer.

      So it runs on water, then? Cool!

      --
      I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.
    4. Re:Great Scott! by spitefulcrow · · Score: 5, Funny

      American beer is similar to having sex in a canoe. It's fucking close to water.

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      Sorry, my karma just ran over your dogma.
  2. I think I speak for us all when I say.. by modifried · · Score: 5, Funny

    1.21 Gigawatts!?

  3. Excellent use for... by SunPin · · Score: 4, Funny

    Soylent Green!

    Soylent Green is people! PEOPLE!

    --
    Laws are for people with no friends.
  4. Excellent news by jayhawk88 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now if we can only program it to find Sarah Conner.

    1. Re:Excellent news by kin_korn_karn · · Score: 5, Funny

      yeah, because if it eats you, you can't cast Raise Dead on the body

  5. At what point.. by Renraku · · Score: 5, Funny

    At what point do they decide that they want human flesh instead of flies/rotten apples?

    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.

    --
    Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
  6. but does this mean by ministerofsickeningr · · Score: 5, Funny
    that i can swat it if it comes after:

    A. the apples i am attempting to eat at my picnic.
    B. the flies at my picnic.
    C. violation of airspace?

  7. Waitor! by Average_Joe_Sixpack · · Score: 5, Funny

    There's a dead tiny-fly-eating-aircraft in my soup!

  8. Re: Is that really easier? by Black+Parrot · · Score: 5, Funny


    > Couldn't a spybot just land on a powerline and get power from induction?

    Alas, Hume demonstrated induction isn't reliable.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  9. Wait a sec... by catdevnull · · Score: 4, Funny

    So, I can see how an aircraft might get FLIES stuck to it, but Apples? Man, you're flying WAY too low!

    --

    I might know what I'm talkin' about, but then again, this is Slashdot...