Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the nasty, stinky water, the Symbiotic Machine comes along and blows your mind. This little robot, built by designer Ivan Henriques, sucks in dirty water, breaks down the walls of algae cells, and then uses the resulting juice in the same way you use lemon juice to create a simple battery with a copper plate and photocell. Interestingly, the little robot has a nearly complete digestive system including – ahem – a butt.
It’s a wild little proof-of-concept that is being shown at the Glazen Huis in Amsterdam and it looks like it’s working as designed, although I can only imagine what kind of mess will build up inside the robot over time. Luckily, it can expel waste out of its butt and even has a cleaning cycle to keep things spic and span inside. Wild, wild stuff.