Citation
Loughlin, C. (2001), "Back to the future", Industrial Robot, Vol. 28 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2001.04928caa.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2001, MCB UP Limited
Back to the future
Back to the future
Our contribution from Stuart Wilkinson ("Hungry for success", p. 213) reminds me of one of my favourite moments from the first Back to the Future movies. For those readers not familiar with the storyline it revolves around a rather wild haired professor who invents a time travel machine (actually housed in a Delorean car).
The only technical drawback that I can remember was that the car needed a hefty kick start in the form of a lightning strike to give it enough energy for the time travel procedure. This requirement was quite tricky to arrange but somehow they managed it and travelled back in time for various adventures. The moment of maximum appeal that I initially mentioned comes about when the hirsute professor returns from an extended trip to the future with an upgraded version of the Mk1 prototype.
We realise that lightning strikes are no longer a requirement when we see the professor raiding garbage cans for any leftover pieces of food that they contain and throwing a few bananas into his "fuel tank" before leaving scorch marks on the tarmac as he heads off to the future.
The energy efficiency of biological mechanisms is most impressive. When you consider the rather dubious food stuffs that most of us eat and the amount of work that we can accomplish on the back of it, then we still put most mechanical systems to shame.
The amount of energy that can be contained in a battery is nothing like as much (pound for pound) as that in a candy bar. Fossil fuels such as petrol and gas are a bit of an exception, but as those are running out it is pretty clear that we should give organic products serious consideration as the energy supply for our factories, homes, automobiles and mobile robots.
Solar power is another good contender, but at a 24hour conversion rate of only about 100W per square metre, even this useful resource has limited appeal especially for mobile mechanisms. Organics have a lot going for them, they are after all simply solar power in a pre-condensed form.
The prospect of travelling down the motorway after refilling on Snicker bars and hamburgers may seem a bit far fetched, but that is only because it seems unusual to us. Go back a generation or two and the prospect of filling a horse with petrol would have seemed equally bizarre!
Clive Loughlin