Feb 28 2011
Greatly influenced by carnivorous plants, designers Jimmy Loizeau and James Auger have unveiled the prototype of a carnivorous furniture, the first of its kind. Their digital wall clock is not powered by electricity or battery but rather a mechanism traps flies and powers the clock with energy drawn from the carcasses.
Flies are trapped by connecting the clock and a conveyor belt of fly paper through which the trapped flies are transported to the fuel cell of the clock.
Coffee Table Robot
The scientists at Bristol Robotics were influenced by the science of nature and developed the meat-eating robots. Using a microbial fuel cell which draws energy from carcass-eating bacteria, electrons were produced and processed into electricity. The carnivorous robots can be powered for 12 days using the carcasses of 8 flies.
Professor Chris Melhuish, Bristol Robotics explains that the device converts organic matter into electrical energy. Fly-eating lamps and mouse-eating coffee tables are also being designed. The mice are attracted by food remnants on the surface of the table. A hole in an L-shaped leg allows the mice to reach the tabletop. The center of coffee table decapitates the rodents once they enter by using a rotating blade.
The meat-eating furniture have been designed aesthetically and given a contemporary look so that they can be used as household accessories and furniture.