Robotic Fish Navigate Better Now

Fish have a natural sense that allows them to navigate through currents of water and the turbulence that occurs in the water. However robotic fish have not been able to do so till the scientists in the European Union developed lateral line sensing in their science research project. The project which began more than four years ago has been investigating the locomotion of fish using lateral line sensing and then developing underwater robots using these principles found in their biological counterparts.
The results have been extremely encouraging. The new robotic fish enabled with lateral line sensing can orient themselves better in turbulent currents, and navigate to a predetermined destination by controlling their motion. Prof. Maarja Kruusmaa, the Scientific Coordinator of the FILOSE project said that so far flow in robotics was treated as a disturbance that drove the robots away from their planned course.

They have shown that flow is also a source of information that can be exploited to better control the vehicle. The robot fish have been able to save energy by navigating through the flow in regions where the currents are not as strong. The science project opens up a whole new avenue for future under water vehicles.