Material Beliefs is a team of engineers and designers who reckon that, over the coming years, robots are destined to play a significant part in our daily lives.
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| Mousetrap Coffee Table Robot |
These researchers aim to take domestic robots beyond the mundane current reality of robotic vacuum cleaners and imitation dogs, into a possible future where humans live side-by-side with stylish, self-powered bots.
With this in mind, James Auger, Jimmy Loizeau and Alex Zivanovic designed the Carnivorous Domestic Entertainment Robots: five prototype machines that harvest hapless pests (flies and mice) from the home environment and convert them into energy via their microbial fuel cells.
The first of the Carnivorous Domestic Entertainment Robot prototypes is the lampshade robot. The lightshade cover has holes inspired by those of the insect-catching pitcher plant, luring light-loving bugs inside and trapping them there. When the trapped insects expire, they fall into the microbial fuel cell beneath the robot's lampshade. This generates the electricity to power a series of LEDs located at the bottom of the shade.
Another prototype is the mousetrap coffee table robot. A mechanised iris is built into the top of a coffee table. This is attached to a infra red motion sensor. Crumbs and food debris left on the table attract mice who gain access to the table top via a hole built into one over size leg. Their motion activates the iris and the mouse falls into the microbial fuel cell housed under the table. This generates the energy to power the iris motor and sensor.
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