Robot fish to swim in schools and test water quality
By Bryan Nelson
Mon, Nov 02 2009 at 7:01 PM EST
EYES UNDER WATER: The prototype for the robo-fish is being modeled after the yellow perch. (Photo: Caranx latus/Flickr) Engineers at Michigan State University are currently developing robotic fish which can be coordinated to swim in schools, maneuver in moving water, and keep an eye on water pollution in our oceans, lakes and rivers. The research is yet another instance of nature inspiring technology which is more adequately suited to navigate real situations.
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Digg"Fish are very efficient," explained Xiaobo Tan, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at MSU. "They can perform very efficient locomotion and maneuvering in the water." Thus, by building robots modeled after fish and strapping them with devices that test for water quality, researchers believe that a consistent level of data could be gathered which simply wasn't possible before.
"It will bring environmental monitoring to a whole new level," added fellow MSU researcher Elena Litchman. The robotic fish should be able to detect the onset of toxic algal blooms as well as monitor changes to freshwater ecosystems wrought by climate change. Schools of robo-fish could be deployed to scan aquafarms and reservoirs.
In order to get the robots to swim in schools, they will be connected via a wireless network to a central docking station. Global positioning system technology and inertial measurement units will allow for precise navigation and organized coordination.
Furthermore, to mimic the movement of real fish, the robots will be equipped with fins built from electro-active polymers that use electricity to change shape, much in the same way that real muscle tissue responds to ion movements. Infrared sensors also could be used for "eyes" so they can avoid obstacles.
So far the researchers have only built a prototype — a 9-inch bot modeled after a yellow perch. Although the device isn't strong enough to resist stiff currents yet, future versions have already been planned which will incorporate the ability to change buoyancy to assist locomotion.
Once the technology is perfected, it could lead to major leaps and bounds in the field of bio-robotics. At the very least, the research should lead to new breakthroughs in understanding the physics of how fish swim and maneuver in their environments.
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Comments(5)
Posted By elana saunders - Sun, Nov 08 2009 at 12:50 PM ESTIt's been done already.
Really interesting but I heard that Spain and the Uk have been working on this for over a year now. See the telegraph. Looks like USA trying to catch up with the UK for once.
Posted By Jen N. - Thu, Nov 05 2009 at 7:28 PM ESTInteresting
That would be an expensive problem. Better have them insured! haha
Posted By Obvious - Tue, Nov 03 2009 at 11:28 PM ESTRiiiight
I'm going fishing with giant magnets now. Forget catching dinner; I'm going for a multi-thousand-dollar catch.
First pollution finding fish
Sorry here's the link for the first time I saw about this. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5012345/Robotic-...