Eco Factor: Pollutant sniffing robotic fish developed to monitor water pollution.
Marine life is tottering under the heavy burden of toxic waste, which as a result of rapid industrialization is being released into seas and rivers all over the world. Researchers at the University of Essex are working on a new robot, which will be equipped with chemical sensors to sniff out pollutants present in water bodies and relay them to their control centers.
The robots will mimic the movement of fish and as they find possible areas of contamination, they will relay the location to other robots in their vicinity using Wi-Fi. Completely autonomous, the robots will have artificial intelligent software that will enable them to navigate on their own. Using GPS, the robots can also return to the control center to deliver information and also recharge their batteries.
The robots will be released in groups, where each group will consist of five fish robots. For now the robots will be set off free in Thames, where they will produce a 3D pollution map, if the tests are successful, they could be used worldwide.
The Dark Side:
The research and the robots cost too much, with the world battling economic crisis, not many nations would be interesting in purchasing these robots.
Via: DailyMail
