Ideas change everything

A robot that eats pollution

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Jonathan Rossiter |

TEDxWarwick

• March 2016

Meet the "Row-bot," a robot that cleans up pollution and generates the electricity needed to power itself by swallowing dirty water. Roboticist Jonathan Rossiter explains how this special swimming machine, which uses a microbial fuel cell to neutralize algal blooms and oil slicks, could be a precursor to biodegradable, autonomous pollution-fighting robots.

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Meet the "Row-bot," a robot that cleans up pollution and generates the electricity needed to power itself by swallowing dirty water. Roboticist Jonathan Rossiter explains how this special swimming machine, which uses a microbial fuel cell to neutralize algal blooms and oil slicks, could be a precursor to biodegradable, autonomous pollution-fighting robots.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxWarwick, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

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Make your own soft robots with the Soft Robotic Toolkit!

About the speaker

Jonathan Rossiter

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Jonathan Rossiter develops soft robotic technologies and turns them into real robots and smart machines for engineers, musicians, doctors and artists.

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University of Bristol and Bristol Robotics Laboratory

Learn more about the soft robotics and bioenergy which form the "body" and "stomach" of Row-bot.

Bristol BioEnergy Centre

Learn more about the Microbial Fuel Cells used in Row-bot's stomach and the EcoBot robots which were the forerunners of RowBot.

About TEDx

TEDx was created in the spirit of TED's mission, "ideas worth spreading." It supports independent organizers who want to create a TED-like event in their own community.

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This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxWarwick, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

Make your own soft robots with the Soft Robotic Toolkit!