Each week, the Lab selects a particularly interesting and relevant news item or initiative and presents it in a few lines. This week, the Lab focused on the European project subCULTron [1], a winner of a Horizon 2020 project call, which aims to create an ecosystem of autonomous robots to monitor the lagoon of Venice.
Cover image: The bio-inspired robot ecosystem composed of "a-Mussels" mussels, "a-Fishs" fish, and "a-Pads" water lilies.
A one-of-a-kind bioinspired device
Led by a multidisciplinary European consortium [2], the subCULTron project aims to develop three populations of complementary autonomous robots to carry out environmental monitoring of the lagoon of Venice. The data collected by the 120 robots will help better understand the impacts of human activities on this aquatic ecosystem, with the goal of preserving it from the effects of climate change.
A connected and interactive robot ecosystem.
Like a real ecosystem, the system consists of three populations of interconnected and interactive robots. Artificial mussels "a-Mussels" located at the bottom of the lagoon will form a sensory network whose mission will be to collect data on the natural environment (algae, bacteria, fish, etc.). They will also be able to move in groups, carried by the current.
On the surface, artificial water lilies "a-Pads" will serve as an interface between the robot ecosystem and researchers. Equipped with photovoltaic cells, they will also provide the necessary energy for the entire ecosystem while collecting information.
Finally, artificial fish "a-Fishs" moving between the surface and the bottom of the lagoon will circulate between the first two populations: they will supply energy to the artificial mussels and transmit the collected data to the water lilies.
When bioinspiration serves robotics.
To develop interactions between the different populations of robots, researchers drew inspiration from the behaviors of social insects such as bees in constructing their algorithms. These bio-inspired algorithms will allow the three populations to communicate autonomously and evolve through a machine learning system ("cultural learning algorithms" [3]).
Faced with the turbidity of the lagoon water rendering traditional systems like cameras ineffective, researchers also developed a system inspired by fish such as eels or torpedoes, capable of constructing a three-dimensional image of their environment by generating electric fields. The artificial fish and mussels are thus equipped with this system facilitating their movements and communication [4].
By drawing inspiration from living organisms, researchers were able to overcome certain technological barriers while also providing their bio-inspired device with numerous advantages. Thus, unlike a simple sensor network, this project aims to create an autonomous, evolving, and resilient ecosystem with the capacity for action.
As futuristic as this project may seem, prototypes of the different robots have already been tested since April 2016, and the results are very promising...
A direct inspiration for the approaches of Vertigo Lab.
Convinced of the interest and potential of bioinspiration, Vertigo Lab is developing a bio-inspired approach at the scale of territories and businesses. To learn more about our vision of bioinspiration, click here.
References
- [1] Project website: http://www.subcultron.eu/
- [2] Led by the University of Graz, the project brings together researchers from the Free University of Brussels, Scola Superiore Santa Anna, the University of Zagreb, and the School of Mines of Nantes-IRCCyN.
- [3] For more details and explanations: http://www.subcultron.eu/project-description/
- [4] http://www.industrie-techno.com/biomimetisme-120-drones-sous-marins-au-secours-de-la-lagune-de-venise.40743
