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Wonderful: Robotic Jellyfish Never Runs Out Of Energy

March 23, 2012 / animals, dammit virginia tech don't make me come back there and...donate so much money you name a building after me, do not like, i'm never going to the beach again, not cool, of course you did, perpetual motion, robotic, spy-bots, stay out of the water, swimming

robotic-jellyfish.jpg

Seen here looking suspiciously like a toilet plunger with no stick, a robotic jellyfish developed by Virginia Tech (not again!) and the University of Texas at Dallas plots its next stinging of an unsuspecting beach goer. "Hey GW -- if you get stung I'd pee on it for you." I know you would. "We should practice." No, we shouldn't.

The "Robojelly" mimic the movement of jellyfish, using a combination of oxygen and hydrogen gases to contract its "muscles," or "nano-platinum catalyst-coated multi-wall carbon nanotube sheets, wrapped on the surface of nickel--titanium shape memory alloy," according to an abstract published in the April issue of Smart Materials and Structures.


"To our knowledge, this is the first successful powering of an underwater robot using external hydrogen as a fuel source," Yonas Tadesse, one of the projects lead researchers, told the BBC.

The concept is that the jellyfish will be able to power itself indefinitely by drawing hydrogen from the water, and will be used in reconnaissance/search-and-rescue missions. Oooooooor taking pictures of mermaids changing out of their seashells.

Hit the jump for a brief video of the thing swimming.

Robot jellyfish: U.S. Navy-backed researchers developing Robojelly [yahoonews]

Thanks to Mr. Fancy and LupusYonderboy, who agree robotic jellyfish have nothing on robotic jellybeans. Aaaaaaah, they're in my stomach poking holes in it!

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There are Comments
  • captaindash

    Why is a mans crotch so prominently showcased?

  • MightyMolecule

    "wrapped on the surface of nickel--titanium shape memory alloy,"

    what is the stereotypical shape of nickel-titanium? is it round, trapezoidal, the shape of ben stiller's head? and what's memory alloy?...as opposed to the regular alloy from in mcdonald's fries. this will probably get a nature paper.

  • i love new tech whether i understand it or not....but a conversation with my wife brings up an interesting question....."are we giving machines too many ideas?" 

  • Omar Cortex

    "Never runs out of energy"
    LOL! Did these tards forget about the second law of thermodynamics?

  • These "tards" probably know a lot more about that law then you do. if you read the article, It uses  hydrogen and oxygen drawn from the Ocean to power the muscles. The vast mass of hydrogen and oxygen in the Ocean is such that it could be considered that it will never run out of power.

  • Schlitz

    Are you kidding me with these T-mobile ads covering the entire post and can't be removed? WTF?

  •  Pro-tip: adblock

  • Guest

    Well, this is a neat little bot. This may have a good use of alternative methods of movement in the water. The future may have some freaky-neat submarines.

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