SCI/TECH: Robot or Living predator?, page 1

posted on Sep, 10 2004 @ 03:24 AM

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Researcher at the University of the West of England in Bristol have designed a new robot which creates energy the same way we do, by digesting food. More amazingly is that this food, in the form of bluebottle flies, is unrefined and plans are already under way to allow it to attract its food to itself. Much like venus flytrap future versions of this robot will lure fles into tself in order to process them into energy.

www.newscientist.com
It may eat flies and stink to high heaven, but if this robot works, it will be an important step towards making robots fully autonomous.

To survive without human help, a robot needs to be able to generate its own energy. So Chris Melhuish and his team of robotics experts at the University of the West of England in Bristol are developing a robot that catches flies and digests them in a special reactor cell that generates electricity.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

So is this the first step in the transition of robots to biological machines? If so will advances in AI allow humans to create a new class of natural predtor, and if so what are the limits? A robot that can run down deer and use them for food in the way that a wolfpack can? Will biological behavior models be incorporated? As the line between machine and life blurs where do we draw the line?

[edit on 9-10-2004 by Valhall]

KhieuSamphan

posted on Sep, 10 2004 @ 03:29 AM

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Oh my God, if we can't turn them off...they'll take over the world!

LazarusTheLong

posted on Sep, 10 2004 @ 08:25 AM

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I AM FAR MORE INTERESTED IN A POWERPLANT THAT RUNS OFF BUGS...
this is amazing...
imagine all those bugs on your windshield becoming the fuel of the future
cars would power themselves by collecting all the bugs on the road into a scoop at the front... opps... shhhhhh
maybe they haven't thought of that application yet...
PR release: patent pending... laz has a V8 bug powered hemi...

E_T

posted on Sep, 10 2004 @ 04:53 PM

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Originally posted by mwm1331
As the line between machine and life blurs where do we draw the line?

Well, from one point human is also machine, controlled by DNA.

Now if they just would make robots which lure and eat mosquitos, we have enough of those here in Finland. (and they love me way too much)

In a trip to northern Finland there was one really nise t-shirt in one shop: It had drawing of mosquito with fork and knife saying "Welcome dinner"
Other good t-shirt I've seen had text "Lapland's Air Forces".