Robot Fish to Monitor Pollution in Spanish Port

A school of mechanical, battery-powered robots in the shape of fish will be released into a Spanish port to help monitor pollution there, scientists said Friday. The 5-foot-long (1.5-meter-long) robots work by mimicking the swishing movements of a fish's tail, according to University of Essex robotics expert Huosheng Hu, whose team is manufacturing the machines. He said the robo-fish would be equipped with sensors to monitor oxygen levels in the water, detect oil slicks spilled from ships or contaminants pumped into the water from underground pipes. Information gathered from the robo-fish would be transmitted to the port's control center using a wireless Internet signal when the devices surfaced. The data gathered would be used to create a three-dimensional pollution map of the harbor's area. The fish won't need remote guidance — their sensors can help them avoid obstacles such as rocks or moving ships, said Doyle, who works for the engineering consultancy BMT Group Ltd., a member of a consortium manufacturing the machines. The fish can also swap navigational information with each other using a form of sonar. When their batteries are nearing the end of their eight-hour capacity, they can swim back to a power hub to recharge...Fox News