On April 20, Shanghai Ocean University displayed an intelligent soft bionic fish - "Wen Ray". This mollusc mimics the body of manta rays, commonly known as manta rays, with a wingspan of 1 metre. Although the "weight" in the air reaches 35 pounds, it is extremely flexible to swim in the water, making it difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake.
The bionic fish was developed by a bionic fish team of more than 30 core members of Shanghai Ocean University after more than 10 years of research and development, and was named "Wen Ray". The core components of "Wen Ray" have all been localized, with high efficiency, low energy consumption, multiple functions, and three advantages of integration, super bionic and stealth, which can meet the needs of long endurance, high mobility, large load and wide range of operations.
"At present, many scientific research institutions focus on rigid body and soft body research, but we focus on the 'soft-body' structure," Chen Xinjun, dean of the School of Marine Biological Resources and Management of Shanghai Ocean University and head of the bionic fish team, introduced. At the same time, with the advantages of high efficiency, energy saving, low noise and concealment, bionic fish can be widely used in deep-sea fishing, deep-sea exploration and other fields, which is of great significance to the development of marine economy and the maintenance of national sovereignty. ”
Chen Xinjun said that the bionic fish product has a large payload space, based on the intelligent monitoring technology of multi-sensor collaboration, by carrying a variety of high-precision sensors, the bionic manta ray is equipped with "eyes" and "ears", which can be competent for underwater monitoring of water depths within 300 meters. The bionic manta ray is equipped with imaging sonar scanning equipment to depict the topography of the ocean and the situation of fish in a more flexible and low-cost way. Manta rays equipped with an underwater imaging system, based on artificial intelligence's underwater target recognition technology, can achieve classification and recognition through target detection and image segmentation monitoring, with an accuracy rate of up to 90%.
With only 3 tiny batteries, it can last more than 3 hours in the water, whether it is turning, 360-degree rolling, or maneuvering. "Wen Ray" can be equipped with a variety of high-precision sensors to meet the real-time status monitoring of fish and realize the intelligent identification and interaction of underwater fish in the whole space. It can also be used as an aquarium fish, bringing a new visual enjoyment.
In addition to imitating the elusive "manta ray", the bionic fish team has also developed bionic squid, bionic Arowana, bionic dolphin, bionic moray eel, etc. A few days ago, it has signed a contract with a company in Shanghai to jointly develop soft bionic fish, and is looking forward to more market applications. This move also represents the transfer of China's first intelligent software bionic manta ray-related technology, embarking on the road of industry-university-research and transformation of scientific and technological achievements, effectively combining the research and development advantages of universities with the market advantages and productization advantages of enterprises, and realizing resource sharing and complementary advantages.
The mollusc bionic fish not only brings an unprecedented new experience to viewers and scientific researchers, but also provides strong technical support for the development and protection of marine resources. At the same time, with the continuous advancement of technology and the continuous expansion of application fields, as an innovative form in the field of underwater robots, soft bionic fish will play a pivotal role in many important fields such as marine science, environmental protection, and economic development.
Editor: Wu Baixin
Source: Shanghai Ocean University
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