Max Planck Institute’s new underwater jellyfish robot is capable of capturing objects under its body, without touching it. This means that it can travel seamlessly without interference in sensitive environments such as coral reefs using electro-hydraulic actuators through which electricity flows. These actuators are used as artificial muscles that drive the robot.
Soft and rigid components surround these muscles, acting as air cushions and stabilize the robot, while also making it waterproof. The high voltage flowing through the actuators does not come into contact with the surrounding water, allowing the current to pass through thin wires at regular intervals, causing muscles to contract as well as expand. This enables it to swim gracefully by generating whirlpools under its body. Plus, the jellyfish robot only requires 100 mW of power and its sounds are indistinguishable from the background noise.
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It is estimated that 70% of the garbage sinks to the seabed. More than 60% of this garbage is made up of plastics that take hundreds of years to decompose. It was therefore important for us to develop a robot that can move objects such as waste and transport them upwards. We hope that one day underwater robots can help clean up our oceans,” said Hyeong-Joon Joo from the Max Planck Robotics Materials Department.
