AVS 50th International Symposium
    Technology for Sustainability Thursday Sessions
       Session AT-ThM

Paper AT-ThM6
Living Machines Out of Control: Experiments in Autonomous Ecological Engineering

Thursday, November 6, 2003, 10:00 am, Room 320

Session: Development and Implementation of Sustainable Processes
Presenter: P. Kangas, University of Maryland
Authors: P. Kangas, University of Maryland
D. Blersch, University of Maryland
D. Callahan, University of Maryland
M. Walsh, University of Maryland
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Ecological engineering is a new field that utilizes ecosystems for environmental problem-solving. One application of ecological engineering has been termed living machines because of the close coupling of ecosystem with its technological interface. Most living machine designs have been multipurpose, aquatic systems with an emphasis on wastewater treatment. In this presentation experiments for making living machines autonomous, or self controlling, are described. Three working prototypes are presented to illustrate the path towards living machine autonomy. First, a solar-powered, floating system that improves water quality of a pond or lagoon is described. Second, a wetland soil microcosm that alternatively feeds itself carbon or nitrogen based on a redox sensor is described. Third, a home-scale wastewater treatment and recycling system that is interfaced through the internet is described. These kinds of systems with increasing degrees of autonomy represent a new approach to bioremediation where by living machines work on environmental improvement tasks independently of direct human control. These systems can be thought of as being "out of control" (in the same way as Rodney Brooks' new generation of robots), because they are designed to have their own independent agendas and power sources. Future directions in autonomous living machines are discussed for wastewater treatment and for other biologically-based processes.