Bacteria-based fuel cells for tiny robots
Unless you're looking at some sort of cyborg solution, one of the biggest problem with tiny spy robots and other such entities is a reliable source of power. Some researchers at Rice University and the University of Southern California are looking to solve that with a new kind of fuel cell based on electron spitting bacteria. Apparently the bacteria can eat at about any material -- the target is waste water -- and spit electrons which the researchers hope to harvest and use to power the tiny bots. Luckily the Department of Defense is behind this to the tune of $4.4 million, so hopefully after they manage to churn out all the espionage needed for the decade, we might get some spillover to consumer devices.
