Submarine-type fish

Thanks to the sensory organs on the sides, the fish can swim in the flock, catch prey and avoid obstacles, even in the dark. This skill suggests that researchers develop an artificial sensor for underwater devices.

Equipped with " side-line " artificial organs , submarines or dive robots can move in the water like fish, detect targets, and avoid obstacles.

Chang Liu, professor of electronics and computer engineering at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, developed the technology with colleagues. He said other solutions previously not really effective when in the water. For example, light does not have much effect in muddy water, and sound waves can detect the wrong object,

Liu's artificial "side line" consists of 16 tiny sensors, less than one millimeter in height, arranged in rows that can be as long as a meter. The size and spacing of sensors are similar to those of fish, and they are designed to detect changes in water pressure and displacement.

(Photo: news.uiuc.edu)

The researchers attached the device to a 1 meter dive boat, which, when traveling in water, could detect a vibrating object.

This diving boat also diverts to an object like a fish swimming to a floating object that is swimming on the water. It can also be detected and traced in one direction by water. However, the ability of the device is limited, because there are things that the mechanics can not perform in nature and vice versa.

T. An