March 20, 2009 [National Geographic News] -- If it looks like a fish and swims like a fish, it usually is a fish. But not this new, lifelike robot fish developed by U.K. scientists (see raw video below).
The prototype robot fish, modeled after carp, have been swimming around the London Aquarium as they await their release off northern Spain in 2011. Equipped with tiny chemical sensors, the fish will collect data on pollution in the port of Gijón and wirelessly transmit the information back to the port's control center.
"It's a little lab onboard the fish," said Rory Doyle, a senior research scientist at BMT Group, the independent engineering company that is coordinating the rollout of the robots with funding from the European Commission. The robots were designed, and are being built, by professor Huosheng Hu and his team at the UK's University of Essex.
The sensors will detect hazards such as chemical spills and fertilizer runoff and will allow officials to map in real time the sources and impacts of pollution, Doyle said...
For the full article, click here
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FOR VIDEO OF FISH, SEE:
-- Robotic fish highlight Essex University robotics program at e-Exhibitions [10 Mar 08, 27 seconds, expo21xx.com]
Latest robotic fish from Essex University scientists is put through its paces at the London Aquarium [16 Jul 07, 2:39 minutes, YouTube]
-- Early model of robotic fish developed by scientists from Essex University swims at London Aquarium [7 Oct 05, 44 seconds, YouTube]
ALSO SEE:
-- "UK team builds robot fish to detect pollution" [20 Mar 09, Reuters]
-- "Schools of robofish to sniff out pollution in the Thames" [19 Mar 09, Daily Mail]
-- "Robotic fish: the latest weapon in the fight against water pollution" [19 Mar 09, BMT Group]
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