Researchers develop urine-driven robots

Researchers develop urine-driven robots

Peter Walters, an industrial designer at the University of the West of England, said that we hope that futuristic robots can implement remote sensing in urban environments. At the same time, they are also environmentally-friendly robots. Urine in public toilets can be used as an energy source for environmental robots.

In the past ten years, Walters and colleagues at the University of Bristol have jointly developed four generations of “environmental protection robots.” The latest robots use human urine to provide energy. Previous robots used rotting agricultural products, dead flies, sewage, and sludge as Energy source.

Each type of environmental robot is powered by a microbial fuel cell and contains living microorganisms that live in the body's internal organs or sewage treatment plants. They can digest waste or urine and produce electrons that are then converted into electricity.

Researchers have now confirmed that microbial fuel cells can use urine as a power source to charge mobile phones. At present, the research team has developed a device made of artificial muscle that can convert human real urine into a robotic microbial power station. This kind of heart pump is made of smart materials called "shape memory alloys" that can "remember" the shape structure before being damaged.

Using electric current to heat artificial muscles will compress the central soft part of the heart pump, forcing the urine to pass through a discharge outlet and sucking the urine to the position of the robot's fuel cell. The heat disappears and the artificial muscle is restored to its original shape, allowing more urine to enter. Heart pumps, like the heart release, absorb more blood.

The 24 fuel cells combined together generate enough current to charge the capacitor, after which the capacitor achieves the contraction function of the artificial heart pump. This latest research report was published in the November 8 issue of the journal Biological Inspiration and Bionics.

Traditional engine power pumps are prone to clogging, while artificial muscle pumps have larger internal spouts. Although the current generated by this new type of heart pump is greater than the consumption, it is still not very effective. The researchers hope to improve the effectiveness of the heart pump for the development of a new generation of environmentally friendly robots.

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