By Andrew Liszewski
While it doesn’t run on batteries or need to be plugged into an electrical outlet, I’m hesitant to refer to this Carnivorous Clock as ‘eco-friendly’ since it basically traps and ‘consumes’ flies as its power source. The long white belt is covered in sticky honey which of course attracts the flies with an unfortunate end similar to them landing on flypaper. But instead of them being left to just die, the belt slowly rotates, sending the stuck flies towards a blade that scrapes them off into a microbial fuel cell on the bottom, which breaks down the organic matter into electrical energy.
The Carnivorous Clock is currently sort of an art piece/prototype so the fuel cell only produces enough power to run the LCD clock underneath it. (8 dead flies provide enough juice for 12 days.) The electric motors that run the conveyor belt of death draw their power from an external source. But if they find a way to make this run on mosquitoes and cook a hot dog then I do believe I’ve found the perfect camping accessory.
[ Auger Loizeau – Carnivorous Domestic Entertainment Robots ] VIA [ NPR ]
