Submission + - Carnivorous Domestic Entertainment Robots (materialbeliefs.com)
Mousit writes: Material Beliefs has an interesting section on the design of a number of robotic prototypes which aim to explore the relationship between humans and their domestic machines, both aesthetically and functionally. These particular machines are designed using inspiration from nature, and one of their most unique features is that they are intended to be at least partially self-powered... by being household predators. Dubbed by their creators as Carnivorous Domestic Entertainment Robots, these unique designs achieve their consumptive feats by utilizing microbial fuel cells to literally digest organic matter and turn it into electricity. The designs range from a basic Venus flytrap-like desk lamp, to the faintly disturbing (at least to me) mouse-eating coffee table.
From the site:
"Over the coming years, Robots are destined to play a significant part in our daily existence. The idea of sharing our lives with these artificial entities in their various guises has captured the public imagination for decades.
Robots have represented both our hopes and fears for what the technological future may hold, yet at this time they remain very much an enigma. There is a huge disparity between the profound potential robots exhibit in the realms of science fiction and our imagination; the banal reality of vacuum cleaners, lawnmowers and robotic pet dogs; and the vision of robots as seen through the eyes of computer scientists and engineers.
With this project we propose an alternative perspective on domestic robots, exploring both the aesthetics and functionality that may elicit a symbiotic co-existence with humans in their homes."
From the site:
"Over the coming years, Robots are destined to play a significant part in our daily existence. The idea of sharing our lives with these artificial entities in their various guises has captured the public imagination for decades.
Robots have represented both our hopes and fears for what the technological future may hold, yet at this time they remain very much an enigma. There is a huge disparity between the profound potential robots exhibit in the realms of science fiction and our imagination; the banal reality of vacuum cleaners, lawnmowers and robotic pet dogs; and the vision of robots as seen through the eyes of computer scientists and engineers.
With this project we propose an alternative perspective on domestic robots, exploring both the aesthetics and functionality that may elicit a symbiotic co-existence with humans in their homes."
