MSU receives grant to develop robot fish

Although Xiaobo Tan has been working with robotic fish for the past few years, his work is diving to deeper depths.

Tan, an electrical and computer engineering assistant professor, uses robotic fish to study data such as oxygen level, algae concentration and pollution in water settings in his lab. But with the help of a recently received three-year, $410,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to continue his work with robotic fish, he hopes to soon deploy the fish into real bodies of water.

“The project is about using the group of robotic fish as sensor platforms, so that they can go into lakes to detect variables of interest,” Tan said.

Researchers will use the fish to provide them with more information about pollutant concentration in bodies of water. The robotic fish originally were developed from a class project Tan taught involving high school and undergraduate students.

Although the robotic fish primarily will be used in fresh water, researchers aren’t limiting the fishs’ potential.

“We are focusing on inland-like lakes at this point,” Tan said. “We aren’t excluding possibility of deploying in off-shore waters, but right now, lakes and ponds are the main body of water targets.”

Currently, Tan is working on improving the abilities of the robotic fish.

“We are still in the process of making robotic fish that can dive., ascend and do other things,” Tan said. “The current fish can only go horizontally. After two years, we should have robots on the way to lakes.”

Once the fish are in the lakes, assistant professor of zoology Elena Litchman said they have the potential to provide better data in aqua ecosystems.

“I think it’s a really good technology and allows us to document precise information,” Litchman said.

Litchman said she hopes to increase the number of fish the research team will use.

“If you have multiple fish cruising the lake, they could crisscross and see where the highest concentration (of pollution is),” she said.

Drew Kim, the assistant to the dean of engineering, who helped develop the first robotic fish, is hoping the robotic fish will inspire students to pursue engineering.

“We use the robotic fish as a hands-on models to get them involved in engineering,” Kim said. “I think the robotic fish is intriguing way to fire up future engineers.”

Although they serve multiple purposes, Tan said the fish are key to solving problems such as global warming.

“I think it’s important for scientists and engineers to work together to find a solution,” Tan said. “I think we have good synergy here.”