 |
Robot Fish Lead, Real Fish Follow
Robot fish can lead real fish in a closed environment, particularly if it helps them save energy. This is the finding of engineers from New York’s Polytechnic Institute. There's nothing fishy about the following video.
(Robot fish lead, real fish follow)
Very little is known about the mechanism involved when fish form schools, other than that they likely do it to make mating easier, to conserve energy and to ward off predators. All of these activities are offset by the increased competition for food and the problems associated with communicable diseases. To help understand what causes fish to form a school, Stefano Marras and Maurizio Porfiri built a small robotic fish that they attached to the bottom of an artificial channel of moving water in their lab. They then placed a live golden shiner fish in the water behind it to see what would happen (because the water was moving the fish had to swim just to stay even.) They found that if the robot fish didn’t move at all, the live fish tended to ignore it. But if they caused the tail on the robot fish to move in a way that is very similar to the way golden shiners move theirs, the live fish would move into formation behind it. And that wasn’t all, after moving into formation, the real fish slowed its movements slightly, indicating that by following the robot fish, it was gaining an energy advantage similar to the way geese do when they form a vee when flying.
In his 2002 story Slow Life, science fiction author Michael Swanwick wrote about robot fish that help explore distant worlds:
The Mitsubishi turbot wriggled, as if alive. With one fluid motion, it surged forward, plunged, and was gone. Lizzie switched over to the fishcam.Black liquid flashed past the turbot’s infrared eyes.
Straight away from the shore it swam, seeing nothing but flecks of paraffin, ice, and other suspended particulates...
(Read more about the Mitsubishi turbofish)
See also the real fish follow robot fish video in this story Could Robot Fish Lead Gulf Fish To Safety?.
Via Physorg.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 2/23/2012)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Tesla Will Have Metal Gear Snake Autocoupler, Musk Confirms
'Its motion was so swift, complex, and perfect that at first I did not see it as a machine, in spite of its metallic glitter.' - HG Wells, 1898.
I Love Ceiling-Mounted Robots
'Immediately an enormous apparatus fell on to her out of the ceiling...' - EM Forster, 1911.
Salto Jumping Robot Now Sticks Landing!
'Lucky touched the leap knob and the hopper's leg retracted.' - Isaac Asimov, 1954.
It's Time For Robots With Soft, Sensitive Skin
Sure, solid metal skin robots looked great once - like in science fiction movies of the 1920's.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Current News
Tesla Will Have Metal Gear Snake Autocoupler, Musk Confirms
'Its motion was so swift, complex, and perfect that at first I did not see it as a machine, in spite of its metallic glitter.'
Starlink Satellites Leading Edge On-Orbit Debris Mitigation
Propulsion-assisted orbital decay, brought to you by SpaceX.
Healight Ultraviolet Endotracheal Device Has Covid-19 Treatment Potential
'He applied the tip of the instrument to the interior of the wound...'
Parents Use AI To See One Last Message From Their Deceased Son
'...what's to keep me from showing face, Man?'
Satoshi Tomizu Creates Pocket Universes And Worldcraft Bubbles In Glass
'The Worldcraft bubble glittered, catching the light...'
Space Hero Inc. Offers Trip To ISS As Reality Show Prize
'This is Elmer Schmitz, presenting to you the finalists in our Aviation Quiz Program...'
I Love Ceiling-Mounted Robots
'Immediately an enormous apparatus fell on to her out of the ceiling...'
Armano Remote Control Excavator
'The bulldozer moved through the... mine... '
OK, NASA 3D Printer Of Food Not Yet Star Trek Food Synthesizer
Maybe not, but we're seeing definite progress.
Kelly Clarkson Show Like Black Mirror '15 Million Merits'
'These people are pieces of software called avatars.'
Salto Jumping Robot Now Sticks Landing!
'Lucky touched the leap knob and the hopper's leg retracted.'
Gyroscopic Median-Straddling Mass Transit Vehicles
'It was among these leviathans that the little gyrocar was daring to thrust its puny self...'
Bigrating Laser Beam-Riding Light Sail Is Self-Correcting
'That sail will be twenty thousand miles at the wide part.'
ISS Astronauts Test Estee Lauder 'Advanced Night Repair' Skin Serum
'Out in the New Moon, just ask for what you want...'
LG Wing Twisting Smartphone Might Be Fun
'A polycarbon screen unfurled...'
Mushroom Coffin Returns You To Nature, Naturally
'She touched the leaf. She was wanted.'
