Flesh Eating Robot?

[evac]

Hello all!

I am reading this article this morning about a robot power system that uses nearly any organic matter. They say "A Maryland company under contract to the Pentagon is working on a steam-powered robot that would fuel itself by gobbling up whatever organic material it can find — grass, wood, old furniture, even dead bodies."

Ok well this is my first post, a little about me, I am really into robotics and radio control. This article really excited me as I am always looking for a power source for my little robotic friends.

Ok the problem I am having with this concept. If a robot is to power itself off of say human flesh. I believe (and correct me if I am wrong) that the point at which human flesh burns is like 1400 degrees which is pretty hard to do without some energy source to get you to 1400 degrees. Would it not be more efficient to merely use whatever they are using to heat flesh to 1400 just to boil the darn water and generate electricity?

See the full article by Googling "Upcoming Military Robot Could Feed on Dead Bodies" (sorry first post thus I cant post links yet)

I look forward to hearing what you all have to say,

--E

 

[Dr Adequate]

It does sound impractical to me. (Note, I am not a professional designer of flesh-eating robots.)

It would also violate the Geneva convention for robots to burn the bodies of fallen enemies:

ARTICLE 17

Parties to the conflict shall ensure that burial or cremation of the dead, carried out individually as far as circumstances permit, is preceded by a careful examination, if possible by a medical examination, of the bodies, with a view to confirming death, establishing identity and enabling a report to be made. One half of the double identity disc, or the identity disc itself if it is a single disc, should remain on the body.

Bodies shall not be cremated except for imperative reasons of hygiene or for motives based on the religion of the deceased. In case of cremation, the circumstances and reasons for cremation shall be stated in detail in the death certificate or on the authenticated list of the dead.

They shall further ensure that the dead are honourably interred, if possible according to the rites of the religion to which they belonged, that their graves are respected, grouped if possible according to the nationality of the deceased, properly maintained and marked so that they may always be found. For this purpose, they shall organize at the commencement of hostilities an Official Graves Registration Service, to allow subsequent exhumations and to ensure the identification of bodies, whatever the site of the graves, and the possible transportation to the home country. These provisions shall likewise apply to the ashes, which shall be kept by the Graves Registration Service until proper disposal thereof in accordance with the wishes of the home country.

As soon as circumstances permit, and at latest at the end of hostilities, these Services shall exchange, through the Information Bureau mentioned in the second paragraph of Article 16 , lists showing the exact location and markings of the graves together with particulars of the dead interred therein.​

P.S: Welcome to the forums.

 

[richardm]

I am not a professional designer of flesh-eating robots.

Come now, don't be coy. You're amongst friends here.

A bit of googling around found a PDF document for a presentation done by the president of the company in question.

It gives a more practical-sounding list of combustibles that can go in the biomass combustion chamber, to wit: "agricultural waste, coal, municipal trash, kerosene, ethanol, diesel, gasoline, heavy fuel, chicken fat, palm oil, cottonseed oil, algae oil, hydrogen, propane etc - individually or in combination"

It doesn't seem to mention roaming the battlefield harvesting corpses at all.

 

[Smiledriver]

I recall reading about a machine called a gastrobot some time ago. It looked like a little train and ran on chunks of meat.

However, using humans as fuel that is at best immoral.

 

[Ziggurat]

It doesn't seem to mention roaming the battlefield harvesting corpses at all.

Of course it doesn't. You don't say that out loud.

 

[evac]

It doesn't seem to mention roaming the battlefield harvesting corpses at all.

Yes I agree most of the other literature does not get that specific, and I wish I could have posted the article link, but they did write "That "biomass" and "other organically-based energy sources" wouldn't necessarily be limited to plant material — animal and human corpses contain plenty of energy, and they'd be plentiful in a war zone." (hint: someone should post a link for me, its on foxnews)

This may be an incident of stoopid reporter going too far to create a better story. Who knows. Still the core theory seems a little far fetched. Plus I really never considered the moral and legal implications of mutilating corpses, ty Dr Adequate (although mutilating corpses was fun in Ultima Online ).

--E

 

[Z]

Wow! My creations finally got media attention!

That's ludicrous. Who would make a machine that eats bodies? Specifically human bodies. Living or not. And runs on three treads. And has laser eyes and... er... um...

I mean, that's just silly.

 

[Marduk]

It does sound impractical to me. (Note, I am not a professional designer of flesh-eating robots.)

It would also violate the Geneva convention for robots to burn the bodies of fallen enemies:

ARTICLE 17

Parties to the conflict shall ensure that burial or cremation of the dead, carried out individually as far as circumstances permit, is preceded by a careful examination, if possible by a medical examination, of the bodies, with a view to confirming death, establishing identity and enabling a report to be made. One half of the double identity disc, or the identity disc itself if it is a single disc, should remain on the body.

Bodies shall not be cremated except for imperative reasons of hygiene or for motives based on the religion of the deceased. In case of cremation, the circumstances and reasons for cremation shall be stated in detail in the death certificate or on the authenticated list of the dead.

They shall further ensure that the dead are honourably interred, if possible according to the rites of the religion to which they belonged, that their graves are respected, grouped if possible according to the nationality of the deceased, properly maintained and marked so that they may always be found. For this purpose, they shall organize at the commencement of hostilities an Official Graves Registration Service, to allow subsequent exhumations and to ensure the identification of bodies, whatever the site of the graves, and the possible transportation to the home country. These provisions shall likewise apply to the ashes, which shall be kept by the Graves Registration Service until proper disposal thereof in accordance with the wishes of the home country.

As soon as circumstances permit, and at latest at the end of hostilities, these Services shall exchange, through the Information Bureau mentioned in the second paragraph of Article 16 , lists showing the exact location and markings of the graves together with particulars of the dead interred therein.​

P.S: Welcome to the forums.

the code is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules.

 

[Fnord]

Does it actually burn organic matter; or does it just let the biomas rot, and then collect the methane for later burning?

 

[ben m]

Ok the problem I am having with this concept. If a robot is to power itself off of say human flesh. I believe (and correct me if I am wrong) that the point at which human flesh burns is like 1400 degrees which is pretty hard to do without some energy source to get you to 1400 degrees. Would it not be more efficient to merely use whatever they are using to heat flesh to 1400 just to boil the darn water and generate electricity?

There are two issues involved with burning something wet. There's energy embodied in the dry material, and that energy can make useful heat if the material burns. However, if you're burning the material while it's wet, you also need to drive off the water---and if you're doing that by boiling it, you're expending energy which is lost as steam.

Energetically speaking, there is no reason that you couldn't do one of the following:

1) Collect wet material. Leave it in the sun until dry. Burn it.

2) Start an engine with some external power source. Collect wet material and put it in the (hot) engine exhaust until it's dry. Then feed it into the engine and burn it. This burning material both provides power for the engine and waste heat for drying the next batch of fuel.

2) Get a reaction chamber up to high temperature and pressure using an external heat source. Feed in oxygen and wet fuel. The water boils off and the fuel burns, both contributing to the pressure in the chamber. Use this pressure directly to drive a piston. (After all, if you had a dry burner, what would you use the heat for? To boil water for pressure for a piston.)

Lots of practical problems, but there's nothing wrong with the energetics.

I don't know where you got "1400 degrees" from, but that sounds like an initial *ignition* condition. Once you get something burning, you do not (under the right conditions) need any external heat source to *keep* it at high temperature.

 

[Delscottio]

However, using humans as fuel that is at best immoral.

If their still alive I'd agree, although I can think of a few exceptions.
Otherwise meh I've told the wife to do the cheapest thing to dispose of my corpse.

 

[I Ratant]

I recall reading about a machine called a gastrobot some time ago. It looked like a little train and ran on chunks of meat.

However, using humans as fuel that is at best immoral.

.
Mummies were used in Egypt to fuel steam locomotives way back when.

 

[Praktik]

It would also violate the Geneva convention for robots to burn the bodies of fallen enemies:

the code is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules.

And they're damn vague too!

 

[vIQleS]

However, using humans as fuel that is at best immoral.

I'm sorry - Why?

Perhaps you need to define 'humans'. I see no problem - moral or otherwise - with using dead bodies as fuel.

 

[Soapy Sam]

Ok well this is my first post, a little about me, I am really into robotics and radio control. This article really excited me as I am always looking for a power source for my little robotic friends.

*Backs away , reaching for shotgun*

I think you will fit in well around here.

 

[Toke]

The presentation looks mostly like hype to me.

This cyclone "steam engine" converts firewood, diesel or other into electricity, and have been built in 100HP version.
Ok, that sounds fine and may even find uses on small vehicles or remote areas.
But what about the collection and shredding of material, how is a computer supposed to recognise suitable material and fit it into a shredder without jamming something?
And how long can it function without maintainance?

Or do I just have a bias against maintainance free systems and robotic intelligence?

 

[INRM]

Sounds like a very bad idea...

I don't really even need to explain why this time...

 

[rjh01]

Another way to consume material is like how our stomachs do it. They do not do it via a high temperature. Nor does it matter if it is wet.

 

[shawmutt]

Biomass, agricultural waste, coal, municipal trash, kerosene, ethanol, diesel, gasoline, heavy fuel, chicken fat, palm oil, cottonseed oil, algae oil, hydrogen, propane, etc. –individually or in combination

I'd put it in a Delorean. That's never been done before...

 

[evac]

*Backs away , reaching for shotgun*

I think you will fit in well around here.

Well I have to admit, I am pleased with the information and opinions you all have shared with my first post, ty all. In digging deeper into my dilemma here, and I'm going to let this rest and not start this up again, but the BTU output of flesh (human or otherwise) is far less than a chunk of nearly every other form of organic matter and thus I think this article was just stoopid. I will just charge my lithium polymer batteries (using solar of course cause those batteries are nasty for the environment) and move along until I can find a pocket sized power source that yields infinite power.

My girlfriend (whom is also a member of this board) keeps reeling me in on my perpetual motion machine ideas hehe. I will refrain from posting those here and getting bashed int he head with small tossable objects

--E