Searching about for a topic for a recent column, I stumbled across the work of Dr. Lenny Tender and his benthic microbial fuel cell. The idea blew me away once I grasped it. Tender, an electrochemist at the Naval Research Laboratory, procured a tiny but steady stream of electricity from …. river mud.
Amazing indeed, but it also begs the question of who could use such a power source. One of the most tantalizing applications is as a battery-recharging station for underwater robots. Tender’s military paymasters are intrigued, and so am I; the mud-powered robot is the subject of my latest Innovate column in Sierra magazine.
Check out the the mind-bending simplicity of the idea.
Recharging a battery with silt is just about as eco as it gets. But what about the robots themselves? How will the wildlife of our oceans adapt to finned robots swimming among them? Feel free to sound off in the comments.
[…] to census animals and guide rescuers. Nonetheless, I feel as ambiguous about them as I do about mud-powered fish-bots. Is the use of renewable energy in robots the start of something wonderful, or the beginning of the […]