Researchers Develop Insect Powered Energy Source

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Researchers Develop Insect Powered Energy Source

Posted by Unknown on Monday January 9, 2012 @03:47AM from the cyber-insect-overlords dept.

cylonlover writes with this excerpt from an article at Gizmag: "Research into developing insect cyborgs for use as first responders or super stealthy spies has been going on for a while now. Most research has focused on using batteries, tiny solar cells, or piezoelectric generators to harvest kinetic energy from the movement of an insect's wings to power the electronics attached to the insects. Now a group of researchers at Case Western Reserve University have created a biofuel cell power supply that relies just on the insect's normal feeding [registration required to download full paper]."

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Neo, the Matrix has you! by gentryx · 2012-01-09 03:48 · Score: 2, Interesting

How long until we can power devices from human body heat or even by the ATP derived from nutrients in our blood?

--
Computer simulation made easy -- LibGeoDecomp
1. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by slackware+3.6 · 2012-01-09 03:50 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  People are unhealthy enough as it is. I don't think your average american's body can afford to lose any more nutrients.
2. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by vikingpower · 2012-01-09 03:53 · Score: 1
  
  Amen. That option is definitely for european health freaks and ethiopian athletes only.
  
  --
  Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
3. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 03:53 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Are you kidding?? This is the solution to Obesity Nation Wide! Use your own fat to power all your mobile devices.. i'm down!
4. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 03:55 · Score: 0
  
  On the other hand, what if you could have something eat the sugar in a diabetic's blood, while charging their latest electronic device? Call it iInsulin!
5. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by gentryx · 2012-01-09 03:57 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Yep, I do absolutely agree. Eat as much pizza as you want, but be sure to burn those calories by powering your laptop afterwards. It's a win-win situation!
  
  --
  Computer simulation made easy -- LibGeoDecomp
6. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by Tyr07 · 2012-01-09 03:59 · Score: 3
  
  The Matrix 4
  You finally discover that really it was humans that lived above ground and developed the heat feeding system. People of Zion are really the robots.
7. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by canajin56 · 2012-01-09 04:15 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, because Americans are well known for having low amounts of sugar in their diets.
  
  --
  ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI
8. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 04:22 · Score: 0
  
  Well, at least they were able to find that dick...
9. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 04:24 · Score: 1
  
  Are you kidding me? If you could convert unnecessary body mass into useful energy, the average American would become self-sufficient. And probably invincible.
10. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by robthebloke · 2012-01-09 04:27 · Score: 2
  
  Despite what MacDonald's claims, fat isn't a substitute for nutrients.....
11. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by dmbasso · 2012-01-09 05:20 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  What calories? Pizza is a vegetable!
  
  --
  `echo $[0x853204FA81]|tr 0-9 ionbsdeaml`@gmail.com
12. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by CastrTroy · 2012-01-09 05:37 · Score: 1
  
  Nobody said that pizza itself it a vegetable. What I believe you are referring to is that the USDA guidelines state that Pizza counts as a serving of vegetables, because of the fact that pizza contains vegetables. What's funny is that even if it only contains vegetables in the "tomato" sauce, that it still counts as a serving. Of course, it's not surprising given their track record which counts ketchup as a vegetable, or french fries for that matter.
  
  --
  
  Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
13. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by dmbasso · 2012-01-09 05:46 · Score: 1
  
  There's nothing like a good explication to completely ruin what was already a bad joke! Thank you! :)
  
  --
  `echo $[0x853204FA81]|tr 0-9 ionbsdeaml`@gmail.com
14. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 06:35 · Score: 0
  
  "tomato" is a fruit, not a vegetable.
15. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 06:46 · Score: 0
  
  "Fruit" is a botanical term, whereas "vegetable" is not, and the two are not mutually exclusive. A tomato is both a fruit and a vegetable, just like a cucumber.
16. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 06:57 · Score: 0
  
  Are you kidding?? This is the solution to Obesity Nation Wide! Use your own fat to power all your mobile devices.. i'm down!
  And I can't get up!
17. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by Nrrqshrr · 2012-01-09 07:00 · Score: 1
  
  My girlfriend tells me I analyze things way too much... I told her to check /., people here do it for a living.
18. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by mcgrew · 2012-01-09 07:01 · Score: 1
  
  Ruining a bad joke is like ruining a turd. It can't be done. A joke that incredibly stupid must be taken seriously, and its spewer stomped on. Not only does pizza have vegetables, but vegetables have calories (how can anyone at /. not know that???)
  Anyone know where I can find a good nerd site that keeps out the normtards?
  
  --
  Free Martian Whores!
19. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by slackware+3.6 · 2012-01-09 07:16 · Score: 1
  
  Hey you can ruin a turd. Ever been on a walk through the park and you accidentally step on a beautifully coiled piece of art some pooch left? Unfortunately you can't step on a bad joke even though they both smell.
20. Re:Neo, the Matrix has you! by nickersonm · 2012-01-09 12:39 · Score: 1
  
  It's already been tested in the lab, or did everyone forget the story from earlier this year? Well, not quite ATP, but a fuel cell utilizing glucose and oxygen at blood concentrations. It worked quite well in a rat in 2010.
I want to work on the software for that project by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 04:03 · Score: 2, Funny

Just so I can say, "My bugs have bugs" :-)
1. Re:I want to work on the software for that project by TheDarkMaster · 2012-01-09 06:11 · Score: 1
  
  And caution with recursive problems :)
  
  --
  Religion: The greatest weapon of mass destruction of all time
Which means that the animal will have to feed by Hentes · 2012-01-09 04:06 · Score: 1

Batteries are more efficient in energy/mass ratio than feeding is. Which means, the insect either has to bring food with it, which is inefficient, or have to find some and feed on spot, in which case it can't be remote controlled.
Everything will be great by binarylarry · 2012-01-09 04:08 · Score: 1

Until someone builds an evolution chamber and a bunch of spine crawlers show up.
I've seen this before on some of the colonies.

--
Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
PETA protests in 3..2..1.. by uncanny · 2012-01-09 04:09 · Score: 4, Funny

Yeah, they want humane treatment for insects too, i have a vegan friend that wont even eat honey or use silk
1. Re:PETA protests in 3..2..1.. by drinkypoo · 2012-01-09 04:15 · Score: 1
  
  They do have crappy silk that doesn't involve killing the worms...
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
2. Re:PETA protests in 3..2..1.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 04:17 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, they want humane treatment for insects too, i have a vegan friend that wont even eat honey or use silk
  Really? Wow. I deal with that by not hanging out with fucking lunatics, myself.
3. Re:PETA protests in 3..2..1.. by harperska · 2012-01-09 04:28 · Score: 1
  
  The vegan (as opposed to vegetarian) "philosophy" prohibits using or consuming anything animal derived, even if the animal itself isn't killed. That's why vegans won't drink milk or eat honey. So even silk that didn't involve killing the worms still came from worms, and is therefore still a vegan taboo.
4. Re:PETA protests in 3..2..1.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 04:42 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Where do they think plant fertilizer comes from?
5. Re:PETA protests in 3..2..1.. by DrXym · 2012-01-09 04:50 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  I wonder how many bugs, worms, rodents, amphibians and assorted other animals are killed when some farmer runs a combine or plough over a field during the course of a year.
6. Re:PETA protests in 3..2..1.. by O('_')O_Bush · 2012-01-09 05:24 · Score: 2
  
  Yet they burn dead animals in their car engines...
  
  --
  while(1) attack(People.Sandy);
7. Re:PETA protests in 3..2..1.. by drinkypoo · 2012-01-09 05:44 · Score: 1
  
  Some forms of vegan don't mind using anything the animal naturally casts off. Or they could be a level five vegan and not eat anything that casts a shadow.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
8. Re:PETA protests in 3..2..1.. by Brian+Feldman · 2012-01-09 07:17 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Organic compost of plant matter? Just because, in the U.S.A., agriculture has a hard-on for pollution, chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, does not mean that no alternative exists.
  
  --
  Brian Fundakowski Feldman
9. Re:PETA protests in 3..2..1.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 07:47 · Score: 1
  
  Plants cast shadows last time I checked.
10. Re:PETA protests in 3..2..1.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 08:42 · Score: 0
  
  All organic sources of nitrogen suitable for plants come from animal shit. Then the microbes in the soil break the complex organic molecules down into the same simple molecules contained in the "chemical fertilizer."
  Seaweed is an exception here, but your garden will suffer if you only use seaweed as a source of nitrogen. Fish poop, bat guano, and potash are the best organic sources of N-P-K (in that order).
  All of that being said, expect your food prices to quadruple or more using organic fertilizers.
11. Re:PETA protests in 3..2..1.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 12:13 · Score: 0
  
  How about plants that feed on insects?
12. Re:PETA protests in 3..2..1.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 22:15 · Score: 0
  
  Plants cast shadows last time I checked.
  Not if you get the lighting right.
13. Re:PETA protests in 3..2..1.. by vidnet · 2012-01-10 00:57 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, they want humane treatment for insects too
  I wonder how many bugs, worms, rodents, amphibians and assorted other animals are killed when some farmer runs a combine or plough over a field during the course of a year
  
  Car analogy time:
  
  Yeah, they want humane treatment for humans too
  
  I wonder how many people die on the roads each year
  
  Hah, idiots. They think they can be for driving but against murder. It makes no sense!
"nutrients" vs. calories by jeffb+(2.718) · 2012-01-09 04:13 · Score: 5, Insightful

First, let's skip the term "nutrients", which marketing and new-age blather have rendered meaningless for public discussion. This wouldn't consume vitamins and minerals. It would consume blood sugar or lipids, both of which average Americans have in great excess.
I've been calling for this (blood-sugar power for implanted devices) for decades. It's easy to point out how obvious this solution is, because I'm not in a field that gives me any insight into the actual technical problems.
If I had to power my computing and communication tools from my own body's stores of energy, I'd get to eat a lot more, and I'd probably still lose the spare tire.
1. Re:"nutrients" vs. calories by HBI · 2012-01-09 04:23 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  It's easy to point out how obvious this solution is, because I'm not in a field that gives me any insight into the actual technical problems.
  I love this statement. I will use this in the future without reference to you in meatspace, sadly.
  
  --
  HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
2. Re:"nutrients" vs. calories by SuricouRaven · 2012-01-09 05:17 · Score: 1
  
  Blood is a rather delicate fluid.
3. Re:"nutrients" vs. calories by Ihmhi · 2012-01-09 05:47 · Score: 1
  
  If we can only weaponize it, Americans would be all over it.
  "Paint a target with the LipidLaser 2000 and our global network of satellites will obliterate it from orbit with microwaves! Lose weight AND your enemies!"
  
  --
  Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
Very soon by koan · 2012-01-09 04:16 · Score: 2

You too can be the "fly on the wall" watching and listening through a tiny video camera and mic attached to the fly.

--
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
Yes, but.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 04:19 · Score: 1

Can it power my TV?
1. Re:Yes, but.. by Zephyn · 2012-01-09 05:03 · Score: 2
  
  Perhaps not the TV, but imagine a self powering bug zapper.
A bug by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 04:22 · Score: 1

It's a bug, and a feature!
1. Re:A bug by guybrush3pwood · 2012-01-09 15:37 · Score: 1
  
  You, sir, deserve mod points.
  
  --
  Perhaps I'm trolling, perhaps I'm not.
Pretty girls by programmerar · 2012-01-09 04:26 · Score: 3, Funny

In the future, all the pretty girls will have flies circling around them. (remote controlled by /. readers et all).
It might actually turn into sign of desirability. More flies == more fly (pun intended).

--
Waiting for you by the bridge
1. Re:Pretty girls by endloop · 2012-01-09 08:30 · Score: 1
  
  You did not intend that pun, admit it!
2. Re:Pretty girls by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 10:15 · Score: 0
  
  (pun intended)
  Well thank you, I would have missed that otherwise.
This is creepily like my book by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 04:36 · Score: 0

My ultra-non selling quasi-science fiction book (The Longshores Rising OMG SHAMELESS PLUG) on amazon.. only thing is I never imagined we'd have invented a bioelectric power supply. All we need now is a nannite sublayer in our bloodstream and a few energy output systems cough cough lasers and we're good to go!
Bad Sample? by adamchou · 2012-01-09 04:36 · Score: 0

The sample age was 45-70 and they found that cognitive decline started at 45? Shouldn't they have started sampling people in their 30's to see a better bell curve?
1. Re:Bad Sample? by adamchou · 2012-01-09 04:38 · Score: 0
  
  woops, i replied in the wrong article. ignore that
2. Re:Bad Sample? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 04:52 · Score: 1
  
  Are you over 45?
3. Re:Bad Sample? by gstoddart · 2012-01-09 04:52 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Probably a sign of cognitive decline. ;-)
  
  --
  Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Surprising, but it shouldn't be by Angst+Badger · 2012-01-09 04:37 · Score: 1

So our first steps into bridging the biological/electronic divide involve what is essentially an artificial parasite? Somehow, I fear it will not be long before some medical researcher who has read too much Douglas Hofstadter thinks of taking it to the next level of abstraction by monitoring intestinal health using parasitic instruments attached to tapeworms.

--
Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.
Squeak by virgnarus · 2012-01-09 05:04 · Score: 2

Finally. I think we've relied on hamsters-on-wheels for far too long.
matrix by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 06:22 · Score: 0

is this insect version of matrix? How long before insect neo rises against the human masters?
Hmm. Maybe I should write a grant proposal: by Hartree · 2012-01-09 06:40 · Score: 1

"parasitic instruments attached to tapeworms"
Well, now that you mention it, tapeworms are a lot better at controlling our immune systems than we are...
I for one welcome our new cyborg helminth overlords!
God shmod, I want my monkeyman! by Thud457 · 2012-01-09 06:45 · Score: 1

Maybe mainstream Western Science will some day catch up with Viktor Grebennikov's work.

--
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
word of the day : Siphonaptera by Thud457 · 2012-01-09 06:59 · Score: 1

prior art

--
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
So... parasitic implants? by macraig · 2012-01-09 07:30 · Score: 1

There's the core of an SF-horror movie for ya.
Poetry by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 10:22 · Score: 0

Powered by bugs? Oh, the irony..