Engineer builds self-powered driving potato…

Engineer Marek Baczynski took what is a common science class experiment – lighting a light bulb with a potato – to the next level, and built what could be the world’s first autonomous potato… A single potato doesn’t generate a lot of electricity, but if you collect that slow trickle into a capacitor—a sort of battery—you get enough of a charge to power a pair of electric motors. After sitting motionless for a quarter of an hour, Marek’s upgraded potato, which he named Pontus, was able to drive in a quick short burst for just over three inches, or a top speed of around 24 feet per day. Marek eventually added the ability for Pontus to randomly choose a direction it could drive in when charged up, and aside from just spinning in circles, at times it would find sunlight to park in, or seemingly followed him around the room. Slow Pontus was, but your cat most likely moves even less from sunup to sundown. Pontus never needed food, water, or bathroom breaks, and didn’t once attempt to shred a sofa. In other words, it really was the ideal pet…  Watch video