Robofish scours the sea for threats

The earth’s surface is covered with 70% of water, and this can only mean one thing – we ought to take good care of the earth so that there is enough drinking water to go around for everyone, considering the amount of clean drinkable water out of the 70% is just a small percentage. Well, oil spills are one of the most devastating things a human can do to our waters, as it takes plenty of money and time to clean it up. Scientists have come up with the Robofish, testing it in the shallow waters of Gijon harbor that is located in northern Spain, where it resembles a large, yellow fish. Made out of a combination of carbon fibre, metal and all of the other electronic bits and pieces, where it will work autonomously to hunt down contamination in the water, picking up relevant information and sending it back to the shore.

Luke Speller, a senior scientist at the research division of BMT Group, a technology consultancy, says, “The idea is that we want to have real-time monitoring of pollution, so that if someone is dumping chemicals or something is leaking, we can get to it straight away, find out what is causing the problem and put a stop to it.” The robofish are said to be impressive enough to swim just like the real deal, and are able to change direction quickly even in shallow water. When they have picked up a problem, they will use artificial intelligence to hunt down the source of pollution and report home to base so that the necessary action can be taken.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Robots
Tags: Robot