Robofish Arrives at the London Aquarium

Posted 7 Oct 2005 at 13:55 UTC by The Swirling Brain

Researchers at the University of Essex have created a robotic fish and delivered them to the London Aquarium for public viewing. The robotic fish have sensor-based controls and autonomous navigation capabilities. The robotic fish can find their own way around the tank safely, avoiding objects, reacting to their environment and not banging into the side of the tank. These biologically inspired robotic fish mimic the undulating movement of how real fish swim. These fish swim slowly, aiming for the speed of a tuna but can accelerate like a pike, can make sharp turns, and has the navigating skill of an eel. In the future the researchers hope to make the robofish look for its own charging station. They claim that the robofish is the world's first autonomous robotic fish but there's probably someone out there that would dispute that. You can watch video of the robofish in action here or on the sidebar of BBC's website.