Researchers have published a paper that demonstrations the first laboratory experiment to use liquid marbles to create collision-based computation in research. The paper, titled "Liquid Marble Interaction Gate for Collision-Based Computing" is published by Elsevier in Materials Today. The research is led by Professor Andy Adamatzky and Dr Ben De Lacy Costello. LMs are liquid droplets that are encapsulated in a coating of hydrophobic par...

A scientific breakthrough has taken an emerging biotechnology a step closer to being used to treat wastewater in the Developing World. Researchers at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) (Ieropoulos & Greenman) have discovered that technology they have developed which has already been proven to generate electricity through the process of cleaning organic waste, such as urine, also kills bacteria harmful to humans.

Research will test whether Plaxx, a fuel made from mixed plastic waste, can be used as an alternative to crude derived fuels in industrial and marine engines. The research, funded by Innovate UK and ESPRC will be led by Associate Professor Farid Dailami, BristolRobotics Laboratory (BRL), in partnership with Recycling Technologies, developers of Plaxx. The project is also supported by Swindon Borough Council, Crapper and Sons Landfill Ltd, an...

The microbial fuel cell technology, which is also inside the 'Pee Power' urinals developed at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), now has the capacity to power up and recharge a smartphone. A world first, the improved system enables three hours of phone operation (outgoing call) for every six hours of charge time, with as little as 600ml (per charge) of urine.

The Pee Power urinal that turns pee into electricity - designed by researchers at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) - is taking centre stage in the Stone Circle at Glastonbury Festival for the second year running.

In the world of robot communication, it seems actions speak louder than words. Scientists in the UK have discovered that by getting robot avatars to "talk with their hands," we understand them as well as we do our fellow human beings. Avatars have been in existence since the 1980s and today are used by millions of people across the globe. They are big business too: from AI to social media and psychotherapy to high-end video games, they are used t...

The University of the West of England has developed a pair of socks embedded with miniaturised microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and fuelled with urine pumped by the wearer’s footsteps which then powers a wireless transmitter to send a signal to a PC. This is the first self-sufficient system powered by a wearable energy generator based on microbial fuel cell technology.

  Open Bionics, a start-up based at Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) that 3D prints bionic hands for amputees, has been selected to join the 2015 Disney Accelerator programme powered by Techstars, considered to be one of the best start-up accelerators in the world.

A toilet, conveniently situated near the Student Union Bar at the University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol, is proving that pee can generate electricity. The prototype urinal is the result of a partnership between researchers at UWE Bristol and Oxfam. It is hoped the pee-power technology will light cubicles in refugee camps, which are often dark and dangerous places, particularly for women.