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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: EP/D027403/1
Title: Pilot project: Smart Gut for Energetically Autonomous Robot
Principal Investigator: Melhuish, Professor C
Other Investigators:
Greenman, Professor J
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Professor IA Ieropoulos
Project Partners:
Department: Faculty of Environment and Technology
Organisation: University of the West of England
Scheme: Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts: 01 October 2005 Ends: 31 January 2007 Value (£): 61,924
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Development (Biosciences) Fuel Cell Technologies
Robotics & Autonomy
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
This Pilot project focuses on the vital issues, for an energetically autonomous robot, of ingesting natural raw substrate, converting (and storing) it into useful energy and removing waste build up. This study focuses on the development of further mechanisms to be used in conjunction with the Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) system developed in the IAS laboratory. An integrated system capable of extracting energy from food (waste or otherwise) will have tremendous potential in fields including autonomous robots and waste energy management. A robot (Ecobot III)will be constructed which incorporates the novel developments outlined in this proposal. This platform will enable us to demonstrate long term energy autonomy in a robot by carrying out tasks which require more energy than the robot starts off with. That is, the robot has to acquire energy from the environment to carry out its work.
Key Findings
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Summary
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Project URL:  
Further Information:  
Organisation Website: http://www.uwe.ac.uk