Outputs (214)

Dielectric elastomer pump for artificial organisms (2011)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

This paper presents a bio-inspired, dielectric elastomer (DE) based tubular pumping unit, developed for eventual use as a component of an artificial digestive tract onboard a microbial fuel cell powered robot (EcoBot). The pump effects fluid displace... Read More about Dielectric elastomer pump for artificial organisms.

Investigating the effects of fluidic connection between microbial fuel cells (2011)
Journal Article

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can 'treat' wastewater but individually are thermodynamically restricted. Scale-up might, therefore, require a plurality of units operating in a stack which could introduce losses simply through fluidic connections. Experi... Read More about Investigating the effects of fluidic connection between microbial fuel cells.

The overshoot phenomenon as a function of internal resistance in microbial fuel cells (2011)
Journal Article

A method for assessing the performance of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) is the polarisation sweep where different external resistances are applied at set intervals (sample rates). The resulting power curves often exhibit an overshoot where both power a... Read More about The overshoot phenomenon as a function of internal resistance in microbial fuel cells.

Comparative effects of various commercially available mouthrinse formulations on oral malodour (2011)
Journal Article

Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to compare a new mouthwash (SB12®) containing 0.025% chlorhexidine and 0.3% zinc for oral malodour reduction against four commercially available mouthwashes and negative control. A secondary aim was to co... Read More about Comparative effects of various commercially available mouthrinse formulations on oral malodour.

Multivariate analysis of bacterial volatile compound profiles for discrimination between selected species and strains in vitro (2011)
Journal Article

Volatile compounds (VCs) are produced by all microorganisms as part of their normal metabolism. The aim of this study was to determine whether bacterial VC profiles could be used to discriminate between selected bacterial species and strains in vitro... Read More about Multivariate analysis of bacterial volatile compound profiles for discrimination between selected species and strains in vitro.

Multivariate analysis of bacterial volatile compound profiles for discrimination between selected species and strains in vitro (2011)
Journal Article

Volatile compounds (VCs) are produced by all microorganisms as part of their normal metabolism. The aim of this study was to determine whether bacterial VC profiles could be used to discriminate between selected bacterial species and strains in vitro... Read More about Multivariate analysis of bacterial volatile compound profiles for discrimination between selected species and strains in vitro.

Power for robotic artificial muscles (2011)
Journal Article

Artificial muscles based on the dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) are an attractive technology for autonomous robotic systems. We are currently exploring their use on EcoBot (Ecological roBot), an autonomous robot being developed by Bristol Robotic... Read More about Power for robotic artificial muscles.

Microbial fuel cells: Scalability and their use in robotics (2011)
Book Chapter

This is probably the first written and relatively accurate description of microorganisms, made by the Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro (116-27 B.C.). It was then Anthony van Leeuwenhoek (ca. 1677) who, for the first time, observed little animals... Read More about Microbial fuel cells: Scalability and their use in robotics.

Digital fabrication of a novel bio-actuator for bio-robotic art and design (2011)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

We describe the design, fabrication and testing of a biologically-driven actuator which serves as a proof-or-concept "artificial heartbeat" for future use within bio-robotic art and design. The actuator employs live biological material, both as a sou... Read More about Digital fabrication of a novel bio-actuator for bio-robotic art and design.

Small scale microbial fuel cells and different ways of reporting output (2010)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

The present study, reports on the findings of connecting 2 stacks of 48 MFCs and the importance of maturity and acclimation for the anodic biofilms. Furthermore, an attempt is made to emphasize the importance of a universal unit for quantifying power... Read More about Small scale microbial fuel cells and different ways of reporting output.

MFCs and algae (2010)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Algae and photosynthetic bacteria may be integrated or associated with Microbial Fuel Cells MFCs in a number of different ways including: (1) use of whole (intact) or lipid-extracted lyzed cells as the primary carbon-energy source for anodic microbia... Read More about MFCs and algae.

Microbial fuel cell driven behavioral dynamics in robot simulations (2010)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

With the present study we report the first application of a recently proposed model for realistic microbial fuel cells (MFCs) energy generation dynamics, suitable for robotic simulations with minimal and extremely limited computational overhead. A si... Read More about Microbial fuel cell driven behavioral dynamics in robot simulations.

Grounding motivation in energy autonomy: A study of artificial metabolism constrained robot dynamics (2010)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

We present an evolutionary robotics investigation into the metabolism constrained homeostatic dynamics of a simulated robot. Unlike existing research that has focused on either energy or motivation autonomy the robot described here is considered in t... Read More about Grounding motivation in energy autonomy: A study of artificial metabolism constrained robot dynamics.

The overshoot phenomenon as a function of internal resistance in microbial fuel cells (2010)
Journal Article

Study on the effects of the compression ratio and mushy zone heating on the thixotropic microstructure of AA 7075 aluminum alloy via SIMA process (2010)
Journal Article

The effects of compression ratios on the microstructure evolution of semisolid Al7075 alloy produced by the strain induced melt activation (SIMA) process were investigated. The samples were cold deformed by compression into the different heights up t... Read More about Study on the effects of the compression ratio and mushy zone heating on the thixotropic microstructure of AA 7075 aluminum alloy via SIMA process.

EcoBot-III: A robot with guts (2010)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

This paper describes the work carried out to develop EcoBot-
III, which is a robot with an artificial digestion system. The robot is powered by Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) and it is designed to collect food and water from the environment, digest the... Read More about EcoBot-III: A robot with guts.

Effects of flow-rate, inoculum and time on the internal resistance of microbial fuel cells (2010)
Journal Article

To process large volumes of wastewater, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) would require anodophilic bacteria preferably operating at high flow-rates. The effect of flow-rate on different microbial consortia was examined during anodic biofilm development, u... Read More about Effects of flow-rate, inoculum and time on the internal resistance of microbial fuel cells.

Optimization of bio-inspired multi-segment IPMC cilia (2010)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

In nature, unidirectional fluid flows are often induced at micro-scales by cilia and related organelles. A controllable unidirectional flow is beneficial at these scales for a range of novel robotic and medical applications, whether the flow is used... Read More about Optimization of bio-inspired multi-segment IPMC cilia.

A hybrid microbial dielectric elastomer generator for autonomous robots (2010)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

We are developing a hybrid Dielectric Elastomer Generator (DEG)-Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) energy harvester. The system is for EcoBot, an Autonomous Robot (AR) that currently uses its MFCs to extract electrical energy from biomass, in the form of flie... Read More about A hybrid microbial dielectric elastomer generator for autonomous robots.

Modelling the effects of pH on tongue biofilm using a sorbarod biofilm perfusion system (2010)
Journal Article

The pH of the tongue biofilm is likely to influence microbial composition and ecology with consequent effects on the metabolic activities and generation of volatile sulfur compounds (VSC) and other malodour gasses. The aim of this study was to identi... Read More about Modelling the effects of pH on tongue biofilm using a sorbarod biofilm perfusion system.