Robot Inspired By Blind Fish

An underwater robot named Snookie was partially inspired by blind fish like the Astyanax.  Snookie is being designed at the  Technische Universitaet Muenchen or TUM for short.

The underwater robot is designed to take into account the following set of circumstances.

• Visibility under water is often limited to just a few centimeters. The infrared detectors commonly used by land robots alongside cameras to identify their surroundings do not work under water.
• Wireless communication is restricted under water due to poor propagation.
• Energy supplies are limited to the capacity of the batteries, so all systems must operate with extreme efficiency.
• Maximum reliability is also essential, because if something goes wrong, an underwater robot can quickly be lost for ever.

A lateral line is an organ mainly found in fish.  This organ can sense vibrations and movement in the surrounding water.  Snookie makes use of an artificial lateral line.

Dr. Jan-Moritz Franosch, aided by a group of students, has developed an artificial lateral line for the robot, enabling “Snookie” to detect obstacles and movements in the water a hand’s breadth in front of its nose and on either side. This artificial organ measures changes in pressure and flow around the robot not with conventional dynamic indicators, which would be far too large and imprecise, but with thermistors.

Hopefully one day Snookie could be used for something  like searching for airplane wreckage or inspecting sewer pipes.

Link via (Science Daily) via (Inhabitat)