By analysing videos of 59 animals in steady motion, the researchers have discovered that most animal propulsive structures are surprisingly finely tuned as they bend at the tip in a way that shows very little variation across taxonomic groups, fluid medium and size – with the bending angle ranging from about 15° to 40°. No matter whether it is an insect, a bird, a fish, a mollusk or a cetacean, these newly discovered bending rules of propulsion apply to practically all of them.

The study suggests that this unique kinematic property of natural propulsors was independently reinvented again and again through evolutionary processes in entirely different groups of animals – a phenomenon that the authors of the study attribute to the advantages that bending propulsors imply for energy efficient thrust production.

The results of the study may open new possibilities in the design of biologically inspired propulsion systems, such as Robojelly, a Navy-funded robot jellyfish we featured in one of our previous posts, or its big brother Cyro, both of which have already confirmed the importance of flexible propulsors in underwater vehicles.

They may be found in swarms of marvelous colours, or floating solitary like transparent pieces of blown glass. From waters East to West, and North to South the jellyfish knows little boundary regarding where it can call home and today, their claiming their territory in numbers never-before-seen.

The very-jelly outbreak has been the source of much frustration for the fishing industry. High numbers of jellies means that fishery resources can’t be easily renewed since a jelly’s preferred feast includes large amounts of larval fish.

So what’s caused the jelly infestation that has people around the world up in arms? Well, ironically, we have. By over-fishing massive quantities of  small, open-ocean fish such as sardines and anchovies, we’ve unintentionally killed off the jelly’s main competitor for access to one of it’s major food sources — zooplankton. Furthermore, over-fishing has also caused the diminution of natural jelly predators like the tuna and sea turtle.

A recent study performed by the Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement looked at two ecosystems belonging to the same ocean current off the coast of Namibia. One population resides in a tightly restricted fishing zone, where the number of jellies have remained stable for the past 60 years. In the other—heavily-exploited zone— Jellyfish have started proliferating to high extremes.

So what can we do to stop the vicious cycle we’ve started?(unfortunately holding the anchovies on your next pizza just won’t cut it). Call in the jelly-fighting robots! The JEROS robot has been developed by the Korea Institute of Advanced Technology (KAIST) to help manage jelly fish populations.

Donghoon Kim et al. Experimental Tests of Autonomous Jellyfish Removal Robot System JEROS. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, Volume 208, 2013, pp 395-403

Robots piloting their skills in South Korea’s Gyeongnam Masan Bay carry out these simple steps: first they detect the jellies using a camera and a special algorithm. Once targets have been identified, the robots — operating as a team, much like real ocean predators — suck the jellyfish upwards into a grid of thin wires which can destruct about 900 kg of jellyfish per hour. While these bots have currently only been tested for their jelly-fighting capabilities, researchers are keen to explore how they might be able to help us out in trying to solve other human-induced problems like: oil spills and water pollution.

Since this bot feeds off water’s natural elements, it’s never in need of any refueling. Likewise, water is all it releases back into the environment so it gets itself around in an environmentally friendly fashion!

Research for the development of Robojelly was funded by the USA’s Office of Naval Research which is particularly interested in the robot’s ability to monitor the seas however, researchers suggest it could also be used to measure levels of pollutants in large bodies of water.

The combination of new materials and creative engineering are paving the way for all sorts of green energy solutions. Click HERE to check out a European initiative which believes in the importance of creating helpful machines in a sustainable way.

We all know that the fastest land animal is the cheetah, capable of running up to 120 km/hr in short bursts- but has it met its match in robot form? In terms of speed, the great cat faces little competition. Nevertheless, today, no legged robot is speedier than Darpas’s new Cheetah bot which can run 30 km/hr in cheetah-like fashion.

As its name suggests, the robot’s movements imitate those of fast-running animals in nature. Just as cheetahs do, the robot accelerates and increases its stride by flexing and un-flexing its back on each step. Currently, this cheetah bot’s still stuck on a treadmill in the lab, however, testing of a free-running prototype is planned for later this year.

Cheetah has been developed under Darpa’s Maximum Mobility and Manipulation (MP3) Program. Instead of being focused on a specific military mission, this program generally aims to improve the scientific framework for the design and fabrication of robot systems, through new engineering approaches.You may also want to check out the European flagship initiative:Robot Companions for Citizens which also aims to develop innovative research lines of research within robotics.

If you’re a fan of animal-inspired bots, check out a  seagull, penguin, and jellyfish from German robotics company Festo and for more information on innovative robotics research in Europe check out the FET Flagship initiative: Robot Companions for Citizens.