This PFI: AIR Technology Translation project focuses on translating the gliding robotic fish technology recently developed at Michigan State University to meet the market need for an inexpensive mobile sensing technology for various aquatic environments. The translated gliding robotic fish technology has the following unique features: low cost, compact size, high maneuverability, long operational duration, and adaptability to versatile applications. It provides exemplary advantages in performance, cost-effectiveness, and portability when compared to the leading competing technologies in this market place, including propeller-driven autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and ocean gliders. The project accomplishes its goals by (1) developing a modularized payload architecture to facilitate convenient customization and cost-effective maintenance of the product, (2) developing a solar and wave-energy harvesting system to enable continuous, long-duration field operation, and (3) demonstrating a prototype of a gliding robotic fish incorporating these advances. The partnership engages the environmental monitoring industry and potential users of the technology to provide guidance in prototype development and market analysis as they pertain to the potential to translate the gliding robotic fish technology along a path that may result in a competitive commercial reality.
The potential economic impact is expected to be over $200M for the next 15 years, which will contribute to the U.S. competitiveness in the autonomous underwater sensing market. The societal impact, long term, will be enhanced capabilities in monitoring water quality and aquatic ecosystems, in inspecting underwater structures such as subsea drilling infrastructure for the oil and gas industry, and in securing ports and maritime borders.
