A new miniature robot developed by EPFL researchers can swim with fish, learn how they communicate with each other and make them change direction or come together. These capabilities have been proven on schools of zebrafish.
Researchers at EPFL’s Robotic Systems Laboratory (LSRO), which is headed by Professor Francesco Mondada, have developed a miniature robot that can integrate perfectly into schools of zebrafish. Their work was carried out as part of an EU research program among six partner institutions,* and the findings were recently published in Bioinspiration & Biomimetics.
“We created a kind of ‘secret agent’ that can infiltrate these schools of small fish,” says Frank Bonnet with a smile. Bonnet is a post-doc researcher at the LSRO and one of the study’s authors. The robot is seven centimeters long – longer than the fish it’s modeled 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, or Danio rerio, for their study because it’s a robust species whose schools tend to switch direction and move about very quickly.
There are two aspects to the research program. The first deals with biology, studying the social interactions between individual fish. Here the robot helps scientists generate targeted stimuli and test the fish’s response. The second aspect deals with robotics, and this is where the EPFL researchers focused their work.
Finding the right criteria
First, the team determined the key criteria that would allow the robot to integrate into schools of zebrafish and subsequently influence their behavior. These included the fish’s physical characteristics, like shape, color, stripes, etc. Their behavioral characteristics were also taken into account, such as linear velocity, acceleration speed, the distance between individual fish, the size of the schools, their vibrations and motion, and the rhythm at which they move their tails.
The researchers also wanted to develop a closed-loop system in which the robot is able to not only influence the fish’s behavior, but also adapt its own behavior by learning how to communicate and move like they do. As a result, the robot’s swimming mechanism – initially designed with the help of biologists – gradually improved as the robot spent more time with the fish.
Follow me!
The team tested their robot in different aquariums, some of which had delineated areas like little rooms and corridors. The tests involved ten schools of four zebrafish each that interacted with the robot. For each test, the researchers recorded the position and movement of individual fish, the movement of the school as a whole and the robot’s propensity to integrate into the school. They then compared their results with observations made on schools of five zebrafish swimming under the same conditions, but without the robot. And their findings were unequivocal. “The fish accepted the robot into their schools without any problem,” says Bonnet. “And the robot was also able to mimic the fish’s behavior, prompting them to change direction or swim from one room to another.”
Similar studies had already been carried out at the LSRO, but on cockroaches. “Fish are much more complicated animals. To integrate into an insect community, a robot simply has to emit certain kinds of pheromones. But integrating into a community of vertebrates seems to involve many more criteria, in terms of such things as appearance, movement and vibration,” says Bonnet.
Learn more: A robotic spy among the fish
The Latest on: Robotic fish
[google_news title=”” keyword=”robotic fish” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]- Ohio man pleads guilty to dumping contaminated wastewater into river, killing more than 40,000 fishon May 9, 2024 at 8:31 am
An Ohio man has pleaded guilty to killing more than 40,000 fish after admitting to dumping hazardous substances into the Scioto River.
- Mercy Medical Center celebrates 1,000th robotic thoracic surgeryon May 7, 2024 at 8:19 am
Clinical leaders, physicians, and colleagues at Mercy Medical Center will be gathering to celebrate the completion of the 1,000th da Vinci robotic thoracic surgery.
- DDT pollutants found in deep sea fish off LA coast raise questions about the pesticide's continuing threat to wildlifeon May 6, 2024 at 8:00 am
In the 1940s and 1950s, the ocean off the coast of Los Angeles was a dumping ground for the nation's largest manufacturer of the pesticide DDT—a chemical now known to harm humans and wildlife. Due to ...
- Best robot vacuum deals in May 2024on April 30, 2024 at 6:57 am
A robot vacuum can set you back a few hundred dollars. Fortunately, the best robot vacuum deals can help lower the cost of your robotic assistant. Currently, we're seeing some great sales on some ...
- The shape-shifting underwater robot pioneering the depths of the seaon April 30, 2024 at 3:00 am
HERO-BLUE is a proof-of-concept robot, measuring 31.5 inches by 23.6 inches by 11.8 inches and weighing 24.9 pounds. It’s remotely controlled, but with its stereoscopic vision, the future could see ...
- Climate change: Could robot clown fish help our oceans?on April 30, 2024 at 12:40 am
With robot fins and a tail, the clown fish will swim around and test different areas of the water. It's a lot bigger than your average clownfish, however. The standard robot is going to be around 1.3 ...
- Shinkei Announces $6 Million in Seed Funding for Sustainable Robotic Fish Harvestingon April 29, 2024 at 5:00 am
Shinkei is pioneering a commercial fish processing technology and today announced $6 million in new seed funding for the launch of its modern system that merges machine learning, robotics, and ...
- Genshin Impact: How To Get The Chest Inside Auric Anglerfish Roboton April 29, 2024 at 12:53 am
Auric Anglerfish is a golden robot fish that lurks around the Sea of Bygone Eras with a Genshin Impact chest in its mouth.
- What's in your seawater? Aquaai's robotic fish have the answerson April 27, 2024 at 12:23 am
Aquaai's robots look like fish and swim like fish, but they also carry a payload of cameras and sensors that the company says could hold the key to providing better data on the health of oceans, ...
- RICE develops new underwater robot with a buoyancy control system using fuel cellson April 26, 2024 at 4:31 am
Traditional AUVs rely on thrusters or pumps to adjust depth, which consumes considerable energy and generates noise.
via Google News and Bing News