Robohub.org
 

Self-contained soft-bodied robotic fish

by and
19 March 2014



share this:

What looks like a fish, swims like a fish but isn’t a fish? The latest in soft-bodied robots created by team of engineers of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The team, comprised of Daniela Rus, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Director of CSAIL, Cagdas Onal, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Andrew Marchese, a doctoral candidate in engineering at MIT, created the robot to be autonomous. This means it has all the necessary sensing, actuation and computation on board. Its flexible body is made of silicone rubber. The robot fish is able to swish from side to side as onboard gas inflates and deflates different parts of its body. This means that the robot is flexible and can maneuver like a real fish—making a full C-turn with its body in just 100 milliseconds.

According to Rus, this type of soft robot is inherently safe, saying “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.”

The fish can perform 20-30 agile escape maneuvers before its carbon dioxide canister runs out. The team is working on an updated version that will be able to swim for around 30 minutes using water to inflate its interior channels rather than carbon dioxide.

In the not so distant future, the fish-bot could be put to use for covert science missions where it might be able to infiltrate schools of real fish to collect data about their behavior.  

The field of soft robotics holds great potential for the development of smart machines that can adjust their shape and size to fit variable environments and interact with living things without causing them harm. Possible applications include: mine detection, assistive healthcare, search and rescue missions and space instrument repair.



tags: , , , , , , ,


Daniel Faggella Daniel Faggella is the founder of TechEmergence, an internet entrepreneur, and speaker.
Daniel Faggella Daniel Faggella is the founder of TechEmergence, an internet entrepreneur, and speaker.

TechEmergence is the only news and media site exclusively about innovation at the crossroads of technology and psychology.
TechEmergence is the only news and media site exclusively about innovation at the crossroads of technology and psychology.





Related posts :



Automate 2023 recap and the receding horizon problem

“Thirty million developers” are the answer to driving billion-dollar robot startups, exclaimed Eliot Horowitz of Viam last week at Automate.
01 June 2023, by

We are pleased to announce our 3rd Reddit Robotics Showcase!

The 2021 and 2022 events showcased a multitude of fantastic projects from the r/Robotics Reddit community, as well as academia and industry. This year’s event features many wonderful robots including...
30 May 2023, by

European Robotics Forum 2023 was a success!

One of the highlights of the conference for us was our workshop "Supporting SMEs in Bringing Robotics Solutions to Market", where experts gave insights on how DIHs can create a greater impact for SMEs and facilitate a broad uptake and integration of robotics technologies in the industry.
28 May 2023, by

Helping robots handle fluids

Researchers create a new simulation tool for robots to manipulate complex fluids in a step toward helping them more effortlessly assist with daily tasks.
27 May 2023, by

Robot Talk Episode 50 – Elena De Momi

In this week's episode of the Robot Talk podcast, host Claire Asher chatted to Elena De Momi from the the Polytechnic University of Milan all about surgical robotics, artificial intelligence, and the upcoming ICRA robotics conference in London.
26 May 2023, by

Building a Tablebot

There was a shortage of entries in the tablebot competition shortly before the registration window closed for RoboGames 2023. To make sure the contest would be held, I entered a robot. Then I had to build one.
23 May 2023, by





©2021 - ROBOTS Association


 












©2021 - ROBOTS Association