University of Bristol team develops robot to run on urine
- 10 years ago
Originally published on November 29, 2013
Researchers at the University of Bristol have developed an EcoBot that can run entirely on electricity it generates from processing urine.
In the system's microbial fuel cell (MFC), bacteria generates a small current as it breaks down urine. Electricity generated from the current heats up the pump's artificial muscles, which are made with shape memory alloys to simulate real heart muscles. Heating the muscles causes a contraction that compresses the pump. Processed urine is pushed from the outlet tube in this step. As heat dissipates from the artificial muscle, the pump decompresses and fresh urine flows to start a new cycle.
In the current prototype, the fuel cells take two to three hours to generate enough electricity to power a full contraction. The team at the University of Bristol is working to match the energy consumption of the heart with the energy production from the fuel cells.
This team has previously made other EcoBots that can effectively power mobile phones. This system can be adapted to process sewage and rotten fruits and vegetables.
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Researchers at the University of Bristol have developed an EcoBot that can run entirely on electricity it generates from processing urine.
In the system's microbial fuel cell (MFC), bacteria generates a small current as it breaks down urine. Electricity generated from the current heats up the pump's artificial muscles, which are made with shape memory alloys to simulate real heart muscles. Heating the muscles causes a contraction that compresses the pump. Processed urine is pushed from the outlet tube in this step. As heat dissipates from the artificial muscle, the pump decompresses and fresh urine flows to start a new cycle.
In the current prototype, the fuel cells take two to three hours to generate enough electricity to power a full contraction. The team at the University of Bristol is working to match the energy consumption of the heart with the energy production from the fuel cells.
This team has previously made other EcoBots that can effectively power mobile phones. This system can be adapted to process sewage and rotten fruits and vegetables.
--------------------------------------------------------
TomoNews is your daily source for top animated news. We've combined animation and video footage with a snarky personality to bring you the biggest and best stories from around the world.
For news that's fun and never boring, visit our channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/TomoNewsUS
Subscribe to stay updated on all the top stories:
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=TomoNewsUS
Stay connected with us here:
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Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS
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