The Pollution Eaters

In another effort to help stimulate ideas for our environmental project, we watched a Ted Talk called "The row-bot that feeds on pollution" by Jonathan Rossiter. The video overviewed a project that Rossiter had developed, that was essentially a robot that could consume oil and chemicals that have polluted bodies of water. Not only that, this bot could convert those chemicals in the electricity it needed to continue to function.



The "row-bot", shown above, was designed after actual animals: the basking shark and water boatman. The bot got its uniquely shaped mouth from the basking shark, and the little paddles from the water boatman. The reminder here is that robots do not have to be any certain shape! Rossiter mentions that most robots we picture nowadays are resembling humans or the Terminator; however, robots can be in any convenient shape. After sharing his idea Rossiter went on about the possibilities of future robots, in hopes to inspire other engineers. He argued that robots can be made out of many different materials, and they can be optimized to be more eco friendly, or to do unheard of things.

This video was encouraging to watch, as I am dealing with electricity in my environmental project as well (more info soon!). To know that generators could potentially be made of materials different from expensive products is something I really want to investigate and possibly use in my project.

Aside from that, I think Rossiter came up with a brilliant idea, and I hope it can actually work. My worry is that the little robots would be eaten or damaged in the unpredictable environment they would work in. They seem a bit fragile, but I am sure they will be placed to an appropriate strength if the idea becomes widespread. I think the row-bot could be an excellent help to our oceans, lakes, etc., and I hope to see them implemented.