Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have revealed the new fish-shaped "soft robot" capable of moving as fast and as well as a real fish.
The robot fish was developed by Andrew Marchese, a graduate in MIT's department of electric engineering and computer science, according to CNET. It can execute an escape move called a "C-turn" in almost 100 milliseconds, which is just as fast as a real fish can.
MIT researcher Daniela Rus, who has helped design and build the robot for two years, said it was created to record the activity of fish in shallow reef environments, Biz Journals reported. She added that the robot may be able to explore the greater depths of the ocean in the future.
"This could be the ultimate exploration tool for the underwater world," Rus said. "It could create the ultimate underwater observatory where we could look into this world that we have no access to today."
Marchese talked about the importance of the fish being able to execute the escape maneuver, saying it "is really important for the field of soft robotics," CNET reported.
"It shows that soft robots can be both self-contained and capable of high performance," Marchese said. "The maneuver is so fast and it's got such high body curvature that it shows soft robots might be more capable than hard robots in some tasks."
Rus, a professor of computer science and engineering and director of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, said the robot fish can be used in other ways, such as studying the undersides of ships or looking at networks of underwater pipes used for oil, according to Biz Journals.
Rus added that the robot's propelling mechanism, which includes internal tubes that inflate and deflate with carbon dioxide, makes it faster than robots with hinged joints, CNET reported.
"The fact that the body deforms continuously gives these machines an infinite range of configurations, and this is not achievable with machines that are hinged," Rus said.
Marchese said that the robot fish is the beginning of research in other environments, CNET reported.
"We also view this research as a first step toward creating soft robots that can operate in human-centered environments," Marchese said. "We are especially interested in developing a new kind of soft hand and manipulator that embodies the materials and principles demonstrated by the soft robot fish."
