IFL Science have invented a great new device with many applications and potential for fish farmers.
A soft robotic fish that was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), by
Andrew Marchese, is reported to
be capable of movement similar to that of a real fish. This
"self-contained autonomous soft robot" can perform rapid movement, and
by convulsing its body it can carry out escape maneuvers to change
direction almost as quickly as a real fish can.
Soft robotics is a relatively new field of robotics, which has earned its own journal- Soft Robotics. This
field involves the development of robots from soft materials, making
them flexible and ideal for movement around limited spaces, with the
ability to change gait (locomotion achieved through movement) easily.
Daniela Rus, director of
MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, who also
helped to design and build the fish, is very excited about this
research. "As robots penetrate the physical world and start interacting
with people more and more, it's much easier to make robots safe if their
bodies are so wonderfully soft that there's no danger if they whack
you."
One
of the draws to soft robotics is that, in contrast to other robotic
systems whereby collisions with the environment result in inefficient
motion, collision may actually aid in their locomotion. This is because
soft robots can "use these points of contact as a means of getting to
the destination faster," according to Rus in MIT's announcement of the research.
This particular fish was built by first using a 3D printer to generate molds,
which were then used to cast the head and tail from silicone rubber. A
polymer ring was used to protect the fish's "guts" (electronics). It runs on carbon dioxide, and in its current form can perform around 20-30 escape maneuvers before running out. Marchese says,
"the fish was designed to explore performance capabilities, not
long-term operation," although he adds "Next steps for future research
are taking that system and building something that's compromised on
performance a little bit but increases longevity." The new fish will
involve a water pump instead of carbon dioxide.
But researchers don't plan on just watching these fish swim around for the fun of it. Rus hopes
that these fish can be applied to study fish in their natural habitat.
They could be used to infiltrate schools of fish, allowing scientists to
gather data on the behaviour of these animals in the wild.
Check out this YouTube video for more info on the fish:
Read more HERE.
The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the
magazine International Aquafeed which is published by Perendale Publishers Ltd
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