'Robofish' monitor pollution

News

Researchers at Essex University have been awarded a share of a £2.5m grant to develop robotic fish that analyse and monitor pollution in a port.

Researchers at Essex University have been awarded a share of a £2.5m grant to develop robotic fish that can function independently and as part of a team to analyse and monitor pollution in a port.

Prof Huosheng Hu from the university's School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering will lead the Essex robotics team, joined by Dr John Gan and Dr Dongbing Gu.

The fish will be equipped with chemical sensors to find pollutants in the water, so can analyse contaminants in ports and produce a real-time 3D map of the port, showing what concentrations of pollutants are present and where.

They will be designed to adapt quickly to changes in the port environment, with advanced swarm-intelligence techniques used to control and co-ordinate them.

Hu said: 'We will develop a team of robotic fish to search and analyse chemicals on the surface of the water such as oil, as well as those dissolved in the water.'

Register now to continue reading

Thanks for visiting The Engineer. You’ve now reached your monthly limit of news stories. Register for free to unlock unlimited access to all of our news coverage, as well as premium content including opinion, in-depth features and special reports.  

Benefits of registering

  • In-depth insights and coverage of key emerging trends

  • Unrestricted access to special reports throughout the year

  • Daily technology news delivered straight to your inbox

Register
Or continue by

Signing in with your registered email address