Meat Eating Robots?!

A desktop computer is a machine that requires human input for it to perform an action. You tell it to run a program, play a game, or search of files. Without your direct input, the computer sits there, it doesn't surf the web while you are gone to occupy its time. If you ever saw the movies WarGames, I Robot or T3 though, you are probably familiar with the concept of a computer (or machine) becoming self aware. While these are movies, the idea of machines ruling over human kind one day is slightly... scary. Could we one day create our own demise? Maybe, but we don't intend to do so any time soon... or do we?

You can feed a man a fish, or you can teach him how to fish. With the first, you will have to come back to feed him, however the second, he will learn how to feed himself. What if you could take the same idea, and apply it to a machine? Instead of having to replace batteries (or plug it into an outlet), you teach the machine to feed itself energy. Are you starting to get the drift of where I'm going here? Designers from the UK have come up with a couple crazy ideas, such as the clock that eats flies and the mouse eating table. Yes you read that right, a clock that eats flies to power itself! Yes people are designing machine to EAT living or once living creatures. If this isn't the start of the end of the human race, then I don't know what will be.

I haven't found as much about the table eating mouse, as the clock that eats flies, so that's the big thing I wanted to share with everyone. The clock appears to be wall mounted with an LED display. Running the length of the clock is a roll of fly paper to attract a meal. The roll is slowly turning and when the meal reaches the "mouth" at the bottom, it is flicked off the paper and into a tank containing microbes which break down the fly and digest it. Power cell is able to draw energy from the breaking down process and use that energy to power the clock and keep the roller turning. Of course, if there are no flies to eat, then the clock would run out of energy and eventually stop. If you were to place one of these clocks in an area that would see a lot of insect activity though, it could be come self-sufficient for a long time.

I really think this is a neat idea, and in a sense, is a greener alternative to other receiving your power from a coal plant. On second thought... its more of a red alternative since we are talking about a machine that has a taste FOR BLOOD! Is this really the end for humans? I highly doubt that we will fall insect eating clocks, but the ground work has been laid! We are creating machines to devour small pests, it's only a matter of time till the machines become self aware and consider us to be nothing more than pests and a quick snack.

Below is a video talking about the different machines they have come up with to help rid you of pests and provide functionality to your home or office. Please be sure to check out the mouse eating table and the lamp that eats flies, after all, these ideas may one day find their way to a Target or Wal-Mart near you.


(First found from Engadget with further information found at NewScientist)