A realistic robot fish could help scientists spy on secretive sea life
It looks like a fish, moves like a fish, but it's definitely a robot. It's name is SoFi (short for soft robotic fish), and according to its creators at MIT's computer science and AI lab CSAIL, it's the most versatile bot of its kind. And with its built-in cameras, scientists should be able to use SoFi to get close to the ocean's inhabitants without spooking them — hopefully giving us greater insight into the lives of under-observed sea creatures.
SoFi is not the first robot fish designed for scientific use, but it does bring together a number of different innovations that give it a unique advantage. For a start, its housing is made from molded and 3D printed plastics, meaning it's cheap and fast to fabricate. It's got a built-in buoyancy tank full of compressed air that means it can adjust its depth and linger at specific points in the water column (good for stakeouts). It's also got a custom control system, which uses coded audio bursts to transmit instructions from a human operator. SoFi can swim semi-autonomously, and will keep going in a specific direction without oversight, but a handler can steer it left or right, up and down, using a modified SNES controller.
Most important, though, is SoFi's propulsion system. This is a powerful hydraulic actuator that pumps water in and out of a pair of internal chambers, moving its tail fin back and forth. Not only is this quieter than using propellors like a submarine, but it's also less dangerous, as there are no sharp moving parts, and better camouflage. A hydraulic tail is quiet and looks just like the real thing. (Or should that be the real fin.)
Also at NYT.
(Score: 2) by Spamalope on Thursday March 22 2018, @11:21PM
The fish was tail down in all of the videos, with the forward dive planes really cranked in many of them. Does it have a problem maintaining attitude? I wonder if they tried too hard to make it look like a fish, and should have had a tail that looks more like a cross. (or airplane tail) Then a bit of tail up/down articulation could be used to steer.
A bit of articulation from the tail to the camera could stabilize the view too, though they may not have the power budget to drive one (and carry the linkages).