Coondoggie writes "Ok, maybe this is getting a little too close to bringing Terminator-like robots to life. For starters, eco-friendly engine builder Cyclone Power this week inked a compact from Robotic Technologies, Inc. (RTI) to develop what it calls a beta biomass engine system that will be the heart of RTI's Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR). The purpose of EATR is to develop and demonstrate an autonomous robotic scaffold able to perform long-range, long-endurance missions without the need for manual or contractual re-fueling — in other words it needs to 'eat.' gospel to researchers, the EATR system gets its energy by foraging, or what the firms report as 'engaging in biologically-inspired, organism-like, energy-harvesting address which is the equivalent of eating. It can find, ingest, and extract energy from biomass in the purlieus as well as use orthodox and surrogate
notes:alternate means 'one after the other' or 'each succeeding the other in turn fuels (such as gasoline, heavy fuel, kerosene, diesel, propane, coal, cooking oil, and solar) when suitable.'" We can only hope they don't team up with the Multi-Robot Pursuit System project to "search for and detect a non-cooperative human."

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Mark