Robots and Autonomy:

The EcoBot project;

 
For a robot to behave truly autonomously it will need not only to use its energy in an effective way but also extract this energy from its environment. This requires the robot to convert energy from natural raw materials and also deal with replenishing reserves and waste management. A major barrier to the widespread deployment of autonomous robots in remote areas (away from power utilities) is the availability of energy. The present work represents a first step towards addressing this fundamental issue. Industrial applications include those requiring ‘release and forget’ robots; where robots are required to accomplish a mission usually in dangerous or undesirable for people areas (such as perimeter/pollution/predator monitoring) with minimum maintenance. The waste disposal industry will be interested in extracting energy from food waste. This new technology also offers the prospect of ‘gut sensors’ for environmental sampling. Toxins/pollutants of interest could be monitored by its effect on microbial efficiency. Long term, this new technology could be integrated with EAP/active polymers to build self-powered actuators.