A team of researchers from Bristol University has developed a robot called Row-Bot that can walk on water. Many would probably no longer find it innovative, especially when machines have been previously invented to do the same feat. The insect robot is a case in point.
What sets Row-Bot apart, however, is its capability to eat waste and generate electricity in the process of its feeding. Once the tiny machine is unleashed on a dirty pond, for instance, it will methodically eat the pollutants present until nothing is left. This is made possible through the colony of hungry bacteria hunkered inside Row-Bot's stomach. The organisms happily eat away waste that the robot ingests while gulping dirty pond water.
Row-Bot's designers have outfitted the machine with a technology called MFC, which taps the feeding activity of the bacteria to convert organic substrate directly into electricity, according to Alternative Energy. The electrical output is said to be more than enough to power Row-Bot's nature-inspired engine, Fast Company reported. This means that Row-Bot can be left alone to do its work, foraging waste without the need for human intervention.
In designing Row-Bot, the ingenious researchers borrowed some ideas from the water boatman bug. This is crucial, particularly in ensuring that the device "walks" on water through a capacity to make endless paddle strokes.
Row-Bot was recently presented at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in Hamburg, Germany.
