Media Gets It Wrong About Flesh-Eating Robot

In the “they got it wrong category” comes a squelch from Wired Magazine pointing out that many media outlets erred in writing a defense robot is supposedly flesh-eating. But the robot company says the unit is strictly vegetarian.

It turns out FoxNews.com, FastCompany.com and CNET news were reporting Cyclone Power Technologies and Robotic Technology had created a flesh-eating robot. This came after Cyclone’s announcement of the completion of a biomass engine system that can power a tactical Robot to be able to endure long and difficult missions without either manual or convention re-fueling. The pending patent for the robot mentions that it will be able to use energy extracted from biomass in the environment. In spite of reports from sources like Fox, Wired followed up and learned that the engine being developed will run on fuel that is “vegetarian” like twigs, wood chips, grass clippings and the like. Indeed it is a “green” technology, using renewable plant matter. Wired also points out that under the Geneva Convention, Article 15 desecration of the dead is a war crime. It certainly wouldn’t be approved for companies involved in robotic technology. In response to rumors on the Internet about flesh-eating robots, Defense Tech pointed out a press release about a flesh-eating robot was false. Indeed stories with headlines such as “Dawn of the corpse-eating robots?” and "Pentagon contract company for flesh-eating robots” is said to be quite over the top, as Defense Tech underlines what Wired and others have said in their follow-up reports. The robot in question, developed for defense system, indeed will use vegetables, not flesh, for fuel and likely won’t be invading anyone’s home for dinner.