Robot that can ‘spy’ on fish developed
Scientists have developed a new miniature robot that can swim with fish, learn how they communicate with each other and make them change direction or come together. Researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland developed the robot that can integrate perfectly into schools of zebrafish. “We created a kind of ‘secret agent’ that can infiltrate these schools of small fish,” said Frank Bonnet, a researcher at EPFL’s Robotic Systems Laboratory (LSRO) and author of the study published in the journal Bioinspiration & Biomimetics.
The robot is seven centimetres long – longer than the fish it is modelled after but with the same shape and proportions. It is equipped with magnets that link it to a tiny engine installed under the aquarium to propel it through the water. The researchers chose zebrafish for their study because it is a robust species whose schools tend to switch direction and move about very quickly. The team determined the key criteria that would allow the robot to integrate into schools of zebrafish and subsequently influence their behaviour.
These included the fish’s physical characteristics, like shape, colour, stripes, etc. Their behavioural characteristics were also taken into account, such as linear velocity, acceleration speed, the …read more
