The techno’s at the University of Bristol have made a robotic submarine which will be plankton powered. It’s the same team which developed, few years back, a robot powered by the dead bodies of flies.

Robotic submarine need a constant supply of power, which severely limits the amount of data they can collect before they need to surface for fuel or recharge.

Now the Bristol team has designed a microbial fuel cell that can be powered by two things abundant in sea water, plankton and dissolved oxygen. These can be consumed by the bacteria in the robot’s fuel cell, creating a current and charging the batteries. It does make you remember Matrix.

Looks like a new organism in sea’s food chain and a competitor for all those animals who eat plankton to survive.

Via: Ecogeek38115