Findings show zebrafish can be influenced by bioinspired robot

Results published in IOP Publishing’s journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics are claimed to provide a stepping stone on the path to using autonomous robots in an open environment to monitor and control fish behaviour.

According to IOP, future, water-based robots could potentially contribute to the protection of endangered animals and the control of pest species.

The robot, created by researchers from the Polytechnic Institute of New York University and Instituto Superiore di Sanitá, Italy, was 15cm long and spray-painted with the characteristic blue stripes of the zebrafish.

The tail of the robot was mechanically controlled by the researchers to mimic the action of the zebrafish itself.

In a statement, IOP said that, when placed in a 65-litre fish tank, the movements of the robot’s tail attracted individual and shoals of zebrafish. The researchers believe that such capability was influenced by its bioinspired features, which were optimised to increase attraction.