So, after days of reporting on this story all over the blogosphere, the company that is developing EATR has come out with a press release to clarify what their robot will use as fuel. In the original post here at RobotNext, EATR was described as a grazing robot, implying that it only consumed vegetable matter like grass. Another robot mentioned in the post, Ecobot, is being developed to fuel itself on insects. These are two completely separate programs, but in the post – as is often the case here at RobotNext – I speculated on the possibility of combining the features of the two robots. In other words, what the next thing would be: a robot that can power itself on both plants and insects.
To set the record straight, I thought I would explain that this was pure speculation on my part and not intended to suggest that EATR can consume insects. In response to the stories about consuming dead human bodies, I did post a message on Twitter suggesting that I thought the robot only ate grass. In my research, I could find only information that EATR would consume biomass. Biomass can include anything organic, so that could be taken to mean that the robot might eat anything. Since I saw this story originally in reference to eating a lawn, that is how I reported the robot in the original post.
At any rate, this is still a fascinating idea for a robot and one that should provoke serious thought. Along those lines, it should be noted that the Cyclone Engine that will power EATR could also revolutionize transportation outside of robotics. This engine can run on any vegetable-based material, including agricultural waste, coal, municipal trash, kerosene, ethanol, diesel, gasoline, heavy fuel, palm oil, cottonseed oil, algae oil, hydrogen, propane, etc. –individually or in combination. Thus, the Cyclone Engine is a very “green” power source. Read the presentation on this engine to see all the details.
Washington, July 17 (ANI): The makers of a biomass-eating military robot have clarified that the machine is a vegetarian, and not a non-vegetarian as was earlier reported. Robotic Technology Inc.’s (RTI’s) Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot …
Biomass-eating military robo is a veggie, not a carnivore – Thaindian.com
Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:56:00 GMT
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