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.

South Korean pop artist PSY’s song Gangnam Style has become an international sensation. Some consider the song to be unique and catchy yet others maintain it’s rather repetitive and annoying. While the tune might get old, most will agree that PSY’s dance moves will not! And now that Gangnam Style has gone viral, even machines are moving to the melody!

Early this month at a robot dance competition in Hangzhou, China, first place was awarded to a bot designed by Zhao Sheng that performed a routine to the South Korean hit.

The dance competition was part of the second Chinese Intelligent Exposition and Industrial Summit Forum and it had nothing to do with the common concept of “doing the robot ” — stiff movements were replaced with some pretty intricate and creative choreography! Along with dancing, robots were also judged on their boxing and serving skills.

More than 30 contributors from six universities took part in the event which even included robot ballet. You can read more about it from China’s CCTV HERE

The robots, which are about a metre and a half tall, use 3D cameras, a wireless two-way communication system and software made to recognize human behaviour patterns to keep an eye on things while patrolling prison hallways. Paired with special features on the robot, navigation tags located along corridor ceilings enable the robot to perform autonomous patrols. If the robot detects any signs of trouble, it’s immediately able to alert staff at the facility. Additionally, the robot remains supervised by a human guard who is capable of taking control of the robot at anytime via use of an iPad.

The video above by Reuters, includes a brief interview with Lee Baik-Chu who lead the design process for the robots and is now Chairman of the Asian Forum for Correction (AFC) that developed the robots along with the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute and manufacturer SMEC.

Could robots help ease the stress of your job? Click HERE to learn about a European initiative that envisions robots lending us a hand in a variety of work environments.

South Korea’s  got robots covered; from classrooms to the Northern border, the nation’s using robots to support humans just about anywhere.   But their robots aren’t all work and no play; Robot Land’s creators aim to foster ¨robot culture¨ bringing its visitors
¨fun and fantasy with robots¨.

Stationed in the municipality of Incheon, the theme park lies minutes away from an international airport and about 30 km from Seoul, the country’s massive capital city. Plans to develop the theme park have been in progress since 2007 and it is  estimated to attract about 3 million visitors a year upon its completion in 2014.

What kinds of wonders await the future patrons of Robot Land? Everything from aquariums, roller coasters and water parks to a robot food court where robots act as waiters and cashiers. Nevertheless, Robot Land is about more than just robot-themed entertainment. Including both a museum and a robotics research centre, Robot Land’s creators aim to educate the public about robotics while promoting it as an industry.