Robotic Fish Are This Invasive Species' 'Worst Nightmare'

[Judi Lynn]

3. Earlier this month: Robotic fish could unlock mysteries of life at bottom of world's deepest ocean

Fish robot
Video grab of flapping actuation of soft robot in the Mariana Trench at the depth of 10,900 m. This video shows deep sea field test of soft robot in the Mariana Trench. Mounted on a deep sea lander, the soft robot reached the bottom of Mariana Trench. At the depth of 10,900m in the Mariana Trench, the DE driven soft robot kept flapping its fins. The front view and side view of the soft robot were recorded by the deep sea cameras and LED lights in anti-pressure shells. (Zhejiang University)


DECEMBER 15, 2021

HANGZHOU, China — A self-powered robot inspired by a fish could unlock the mysteries of life seven miles down at the bottom of the world’s deepest ocean. The robotic fish wiggles its body and flaps its fins just like the real thing and is set to improve exploration of the uncharted seas.

The robot, described in the prestigious British journal Nature, is the most advanced of its kind ever built. It’s based on the pink snailfish, which lives in the Mariana Trench, an abyss in the western Pacific Ocean almost seven miles beneath the waves. The idea is that it won’t freak out underwater creatures, many of which are still to be discovered — they will assume it’s just another fish.

“In trials, the robot was found to operate successfully there,” says corresponding study-author Tiefeng Li of Zhejiang University, per South West News Service. “It also swam freely up to two miles below the surface in the South China Sea.”

The oceans contain 99 percent of the living area on the planet. Yet they are so hard to explore that scientists know more about space. That could be about to change. As climate change and overfishing wreak havoc on oceans, scientists are racing to study marine life in detail.

More:
https://www.studyfinds.org/robotic-fish-unlock-mysteries-worlds-deepest-ocean/