Death Becomes Her

Energy consumption has, as of late, become a very well explored theme for conceptual product design. Carnivorous Domestic Entertainment Robots, succeeds in taking this theme to an entirely new dimension with a line of common household products with an extremely uncommon source for energy. Conceived and designed by James Auger, Jimmy Loizeau, and Aleksander Zivanovic in conjunction with research scientists as prototypes for their Material Beliefs project, CDER utilize small, microbial fuel cell technology to power their various parts.

Lampshade Robot attracts insects to holes that serve as light sources. These holes are based on the form of the pitcher plant and enable insects to enter, but allow no escape. Once inside, the insect falls into a microbial fuel cell at the base of the lampshade which produces electricity from the “consumption” of the insect body. This electricity is used to power LEDs that are activated when the house lights are off. I can’t help but wonder if the next generation of Lampshade Robot will smell like meat in an evolutionary attempt to attract more flies?

Mousetrap Coffee Table allows rodents to access the surface of the coffee table via a tunnel through an oversize leg where they expect to find crumbs and other edible items. Once on the table’s surface the mouse will encounter a trapdoor of sorts, in the middle of the table. A motion sensor perceives when a mouse is standing on the surface of the opening and a mechanical “iris” much like a camera shutter is activated. Shutter opens- the mouse falls through the opening into the microbial fuel cell. Shutter closes- the mouse is trapped inside and converted into energy that is stored for later use by the mechanical shutter and motion sensor.

Fly-paper Robotic Clock uses fly-paper attached to a set of rollers to trap flies. As the rollers spin, the fly carcasses are scraped off into a microbial fuel cell: producing energy that is then used to power the rollers as well as a small LCD clock.