In this episode we interview Chris Melhuish, who is the director of the Bristol Robotics Laboratory at the University of Bristol and the West of England in the UK.

Whether for your iPod or robot, we all crave for a better energy autonomy. Batteries, solar panels and gas tanks are the usual, but what if machines could digest bugs or waste to get on the move? Chris Melhuish presents the fly-eating EcoBot, artificial gills for underwater robots and the technology behind Microbial Fuel Cells. The question now is whether these robots will be begging for food or capable of autonomously foraging for it in their environment (SlugBot). So... why don't we have humanoids sitting in our restaurants yet?


The Bristol Robotics Lab is also active in the areas of collective and single robot systems, biologically based neuro-controllers and humanoid robots (projects).

Links:

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• Chris Melhuish's homepage