Video Transcript
The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) announced its research that intends to equip jellyfish with electronics and a prosthetic hat in an effort to convert the brainless invertebrates into ocean data collectors.
According to Caltech, the goal is to send the biohybrid robotic jellies into the ocean to gather information about salinity, oxygen levels, and temperature amid a changing climate.
The research is conducted by John Dabiri, an aeronautics and mechanical engineering professor at Caltech. Dabiri previously attempted to replicate jellyfish with a mechanical robot that swam similarly to the aquatic animal. The idea was inspired by a jellyfish’s keen ability to travel through water, but the robot could not swim with the same efficiency. This inspired Dabiri to work with jellyfish directly.
Past work featured an electronic pacemaker implant that controlled the jellyfish’s swim speed. The most recent development in the research added a 3D-printed forebody. Resembling a hat and the pointed end of an arrow, the forebody rests on the jellies’ bell, reducing drag and increasing swimming performance.
Caltech tested the augmented jellyfish in a three-story vertical aquarium that emulated a swimmer treadmill. Results concluded that a jellyfish augmented with the forebody and pacemaker could swim 4.5 times faster than a natural jellyfish with a payload.
According to Dabiri, the cost is approximately $20 per biohybrid robotic jellyfish. The professor added that the team collaborated with bioethicists to develop an ethically principled application for the jellyfish, which already don’t possess the ability to sense pain.
The research is currently limited in that it can only increase swim speed in a straight line. However, Caltech said additional research could add the ability to steer, enabling vertical and horizontal ocean exploration.
