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EATR's engine officially complete, and this robot's one step closer to reality
If you're anything like us, you've probably been keeping pretty close tabs on EATR, the biomass-to-power robot that's been making people nervous for some time now. Well, EATR's engine -- which is being built by Cyclone Power Technologies -- is complete, and the drone is now one giant leap closer to living in actual reality with us. The completed steam engine, called WHE, is a six-cylinder external heat engine which can generate up to 18 horsepower of mechanical power. As previously clarified by EATR's makers (a project that's getting help from the University of Maryland and DARPA), the robot will not feed on things like animals... or humans. No, this is no zombified drone -- EATR will harvest only plant matter for energy -- which, if you ask us, makes the whole thing much more mundane. Regardless, we'll be keeping our eyes on this project as it moves forward. The full press release is after the break.
Laura June Dziuban03.30.2010
EATR robots claim to be vegetarian... sure
Usually when we freak out about the coming of killer robots, nobody bothers to disagree with our histrionics, which is in itself a comforting sign that we're overreacting. On the other hand, if the makers of a chainsaw-wielding robot take the time to point out that it is not a flesh-eating harbinger of the apocalypse, well... Cyclone Power and Robotic Technologies, the companies behind the weaponized EATR drone, have put together a joint press release to comfort us all that the biomass-harvesting machine will be exclusively vegetarian, meaning it would only feed on "renewable plant matter" and not the bodies littering the battlefield. There's no reason not to believe them, though you should remember that in the eyes of a robot, humans are renewable too. [Via Wired]
Vlad Savov07.21.2009
EATR robots are coming, this isn't funny anymore
Oh sure, we joke about rogue AI all the time, and we're aware that we'll probably pollute ourselves to death well before the robots get us, but who really thinks flesh-eating machines are a good idea? The (patently evil) scientists behind the EATR project -- no fair, they're making their own jokes now too -- have reached a new milestone in the development of the reconnaissance bot, successfully coupling a steam generator with a compact biomass furnace. It is now therefore possible for an autonomous machine to forage for and refuel itself with biomatter, otherwise known as soft, pulsating, yummy humans. They call it fuel versatility, as gasoline, diesel, and solar power may also be used if available, yet we'll offer no prizes for predicting which energy source these chainsaw-equipped robots will prefer. [Via Switched]
Vlad Savov07.10.2009