BEWARE: a hungry, flesh-eating robot called Chew Chew could have designs on
you. Not that you won’t hear the beast coming: Chew Chew is a 12-wheeled monster
that looks more like a train. But he’s also the first robot to be completely
powered by food. He’s called a gastrobot—and he is set to make his public
debut in August, at a robotics conference in Hawaii.
Chew Chew’s “stomach” is a microbial fuel cell (MFC), a device that enslaves
a population of bacteria, in this case E. coli, to break down food and
convert chemical energy into electricity. The ideal…
