Algae Eating Robots, Food from Waste Water & Seaweed Burgers

Biotalk 03 - with Bernelle Verster and Ivan Henrique

12 Jun 2014

This month's Biotalk is all about using water and its ecology as resource. Is wastewater a filthy business? Bernelle Verster shows the opposite and explains how wastewater turn into valuable (bio)products. Ivan Henrique will bring his algae eating, swimming robot. Did you ever try a seaweed burger? Come early and taste the Dutch Weed Burger while Plant Bots are rummaging around the Mediamatic Fabriek!

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Dutch Weed Burgers in the making - Dutch Weed Burger

Ivan Henriques

Ivan Henriques is a transdisciplinairy artist and researcher working in Brazil and The Netherlands. His most recent project is the 'Symbiotic Machine', for which he received a honorable mention at the 2014 Prix Ars Electronica in Austria. This robot-like machine harvests energy from photosynthetic organisms and uses this energy to keep in motion. This way the machine cleanses the surface of the water from poisonous algae. The machine can be used to clean rivers, canals and other wetland environments.

Bernelle Verster

Bernelle Verster (South Africa) is a bioprocess engineer who sees valuable options in wastewater and the sewage plants. They emit hundreds of tons of carbon, nitrogen and phosphate. These kind of waste products can be re-used. So she says, water is a cycle like everything in nature and we need to help that cycle flow.

Dutch Weed Burger

Dutch Weed Burger is a company that uses Dutch Seaweed as their main ingredient. This superfood contains lots of minerals and vitamins and has the same amount of proteins as meat. They believe that this sustainable 'fastfood' is the source of the future and will ease the ecosystem. Since no fresh water or farmland is needed to harvest the seaweed. Tonight is your first chance to try a delicious seaweed burger and listen to the story of these bright entrepreneurs

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Weed burger - Dutch Weed burger, with as main ingredient Dutch Seaweed. Dutch Weed burger, with Dutch Seaweed as main ingredient. The Dutch Weed Burger

PlantBot Genetics

The PlantBot Genetics Corporation parodies and satirically comments on the aggressive and misleading practices of biotech companies. In answer to this, PlantBot Genetics Inc. grafts plants onto animatronic and remote controlled bases to become organisms with no clear heritage and no clear future. Their bizarre creations emphasize the ridiculousness of actual biotech products through corporate graphics, product descriptions, and marketing techniques.

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Monsantra PlantBot - Portrait of Monsantra. One of the PlantBot's from PlantBot Genetics.

Bio Industry

This event is part of Mediamatic Bio Industry, a bio-cultural lab exploring the possibilities of fungal material and other bio-based materials for design, science and art. The Mediamatic Bio-talks is a monthly lecture series that invites artists and designers to present and elaborate on their work concerning bio-based research and design.

Information

Entrance 5 euro. Free entrance with a valid Mediamatic Membership (€5,- for 9 weeks)
Location: Mediamatic Fabriek, VOC-kade 10, Van Gendthallen Amsterdam
Presentations start at 20.00. Seaweed burgers are served at 19.00.

Mediamatic Bio Industry is made possible by DOEN foundation and Mondriaan Fonds.

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Symbiotic Machine_ivan henriques_image by lyndsey housden - Portrait of the Symbiotic Machine. An algae eating robot, who feeds itself on photosynthetic organisms and therefore keeps in motion. By Ivan Henriques. Lyndsey Housden

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Symbiotic Machine - Found on Ivan Henriques' website Ivan Henriques developed a prototype for an autonomous photosynthetic bio-machine which harvests energy from photosynthetic organisms, applying this energy to movement to be able to collect photosynthetic organisms again. This bio-solar machine will create a symbiotic system with the environment where it is located, which detects, collects, carries and processes these organisms autonomously, amplifying the energy obtained from them using a floating mobile robotic structure

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Dutch Weed Burgers - Image of Dutch Weed Burgers. Taken at the BioTalk: Algae Eating Robots, Food from Waste Water & Seaweed Burgers Irati

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Presentation on how wastewater could turn into valuable (bio)products - Presentation at BioTalk: Algae Eating Robots, Food from Waste Water & Seaweed Burgers Irati

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Presentation on how wastewater could turn into valuable (bio)products - Presentation on how wastewater could turn into valuable (bio)product. Picture taken at the BioTalk: Algae Eating Robots, Food from Waste Water & Seaweed Burgers. Irati

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Presentation of the The PlantBot Genetics Corporation - Presentation of the The PlantBot Genetics Corporation. Picture taken at the BioTalk: Algae Eating Robots, Food from Waste Water & Seaweed Burgers Irati

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Presentation of the The PlantBot Genetics Corporation - Presentation of the The PlantBot Genetics Corporation. Picture taken at the BioTalk: Algae Eating Robots, Food from Waste Water & Seaweed Burgers Irati

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An algae eating robot: Symbiotic Machine by Ivan Henriques. - Portrait of the Symbiotic Machine. An algae eating robot, who feeds itself on photosynthetic organisms and therefore keeps in motion. Picture taken at the BioTalk: Algae Eating Robots, Food from Waste Water & Seaweed Burgers Irati

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Presentation of Ivan Henriques about his latest project: Symbiotic Machine - Presentation of Ivan Henriques about his latest project: 'Symbiotic Machine'. Picture taken at BioTalk: Algae Eating Robots, Food from Waste Water & Seaweed Burgers. Irati

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Presentation of Ivan Henriques about his latest project: Symbiotic Machine - Presentation of Ivan Henriques about his latest project: 'Symbiotic Machine'. Picture taken at BioTalk: Algae Eating Robots, Food from Waste Water & Seaweed Burgers. Irati

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Presentation of the Dutch Weed Burger - Presentation of the Dutch Weed Burger. Picture taken at the BioTalk: Algae Eating Robots, Food from Waste Water & Seaweed Burgers. Irati

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Presentation of the Dutch Weed Burger - Presentation of the Dutch Weed Burger. Picture taken at the BioTalk: Algae Eating Robots, Food from Waste Water & Seaweed Burgers. Irati

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Presentation of the Dutch Weed Burger - Presentation of the Dutch Weed Burger. Picture taken at the BioTalk: Algae Eating Robots, Food from Waste Water & Seaweed Burgers. Irati

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Presentation of the Dutch Weed Burger - Presentation of the Dutch Weed Burger. Picture taken at the BioTalk: Algae Eating Robots, Food from Waste Water & Seaweed Burgers. Irati

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Dutch weed burgers at the BioTalk: Algae Eating Robots, Food from Waste Water & Seaweed Burgers - Enjoying dutch weed burgers at the BioTalk: Algae Eating Robots, Food from Waste Water & Seaweed Burgers. Irati

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Guests Enjoying dutch weed burgers - People enjoying dutch weed burgers at the BioTalk: Algae Eating Robots, Food from Waste Water & Seaweed Burgers. Irati