A fly was flying around the room, buzzing persistently. At some point, the insect sat down on a plastic tape hanging from the wall clock and stuck to it tightly. The tape slowly pulled into the mechanism along with its prey. A few seconds later, the fly died, and the watch received an additional winding …
The fly will tell the time …
No, this is not a prelude to another movie nightmare and not a fantasy on the topic: "Mechanisms and living beings: who will win?" Created by British designers James Auger and Jimmy Loiseau, "carnivorous robots" work perfectly and perform several functions simultaneously: they exterminate insects and small rodents and with their help, if you can call it that, replenish their own energy reserves.
So, we are already familiar with the first robot. This is a watch with a built-in mechanism stretching duct tape between two drums. In the process of stretching, a special knife cleans the corpses of victims from the tape into a special container, which is a microbial fuel cell, where a colony of bacteria decomposes their remains, generating electricity. The energy received from a dozen flies is enough for long-term operation of both the clock and the trap mechanism.
The next robot in appearance is an ordinary floor lamp. During the day it can serve to illuminate the room, and at night, when everyone goes to bed, an ultraviolet bait is turned on in the floor lamp, the path from which ends with the same fuel cell. On the electricity obtained in such a bloodthirsty way, the floor lamp works like a fumigator.
… and the mouse will brew coffee
Another invention can be called universal in the sense that it can power any electronics. Moreover, here the insects themselves are involved in the destruction of insects. This bio-robot features a set of rods that are attractive from the
point of view of inventors, primarily to spiders. By design, the carnivorous monster is set up where spiders can freely use its rods to weave their webs. However, the robot is not going to give the spiders their prey at all. A special manipulator removes all insects that have got there from the web and sends everything to the same bio-processing container.
And, finally, the latest creation of British dreamers to date: a coffee maker that runs on … mice!
This robot looks like an ordinary small table with a coffee maker built into it. Outwardly, it differs from other tables only in a noticeable hole in one of the legs, which is extremely attractive for small rodents. However, after walking along the mink, the mouse suddenly realizes that this is not her new home, but a ruthless and bloodthirsty mousetrap. Suddenly and silently under the paws of the rodent, a steel diaphragm opens and, having absorbed the unlucky animal, immediately closes again. The further path of the captive ends with the same biofuel element. One mouse is enough to brew your morning cup of coffee.
“The aim of our research and development,” says James Auger, “is to assess the future role of robots in everyday life. A deeper understanding of what our robots can and should not do in life. True, there is also an element of black humor. If civilization is destroyed, the electrical grid will shut down and all humans will die, these robots could live as long as the flies remain. Robots will not die out after us."