Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

This Lifelike Robotic Fish Is About to Change the Way We Study Marine Life Forever

A newly created, incredibly lifelike robot fish could potentially help scientists protect marine life from climate change.

Researchers at MIT have created the most advanced robotic fish built to date.

SoFi, short for “Soft Robotic Fish,” is 18.5 inches long, weighs 3.5 lbs. and can swim up to 60 feet underwater for about 40 minutes at a time. Just like a real fish, it features a torpedo-like shape and undulating tail.


“When we were designing the robot, we tried to make sure that it's moving to conserve the life we're trying to observe,” study co-author Joseph DelPreto toldNational Geographic.

The MIT team has been working on a robotic fish prototype since 2014, but SoFi is the first version that can not only be controlled remotely but can swim deeper than 3 feet. Given its lifelike appearance, SoFi can get closer to marine creatures than any previous underwater vehicle, allowing scientists to gain potentially unprecedented access to the lives of underwater creatures in endangered environments such as coral reefs.

“Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) or autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in ocean environments typically use propellers or jet-based propulsion systems,” reads the MIT report. “However, these propulsion systems generate substantial turbulence and have the potential to scare marine life and prevent close-up observations. Further, the mere appearance of these vehicles, typically large and rigid like a submarine, does not integrate well into the marine environment.”

In a video produced by MIT’s CSAIL (Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory), the division that created SoFi, the fish can be seen undulating through the Rainbow Reef off the coast of Fiji, the only immediate clues that it’s not perhaps a small shark or tuna being the robot’s constant, repetitive movements and stationary front fins.

“I was amazed at how well it was working, how well I was able to get this tail to beat back and forth or swim left and right, like a shark or some other fish,” Robert Katzschmann, a graduate student at MIT who led the team, told The New York Times.

SoFi’s tail moves with the assistance of a hydraulic pump, controlled by — of all things — a waterproofed Super Nintendo controller. The fish also sports a camera, two-way underwater microphone, battery, environmental sensors and bespoke communication system that relies on sound waves to communicate with SoFi’s diver pilot.

“Our primary goal was to make something for biologists,” said Katzschmann.

The researchers hope that someday an entire fleet of SoFis can help scientists learn more about sea creatures and environments under threat from climate-change-related phenomena like coral bleaching, increased tropical storm activity and rising sea temperatures. Because many of SoFi’s components were created using 3-D printing, researchers are optimistic about the robot’s ability to be cloned.

“In the future, researchers could use the soft robotic fish described in this paper and easily change its size, color, and shape to emulate various types of fish with different dynamic behaviors…. [it] can also be rapidly fabricated to create a swarm of robotic fish,” reads the study. “Such a swarm could enable studies of schools of fish and their interactions in the presence of varying ocean dynamics.”

More from News

Carrie Fisher and Billie Lourd
Chelsea Lauren/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images

Billie Lourd Shares Sweet Photo Of Her Kids To Honor Late Mom Carrie Fisher For Star Wars Day

Star Wars Day, celebrated annually on May 4th, is an unofficial international holiday started by and for fans of the Star Wars franchise. A pun of "May the Force be with you," "May the Fourth Be With You" first appeared in print in 1979.

For years, fans, franchise actors, and production members have shared messages and memes on social media to commemorate the day.

Keep ReadingShow less
Marco Rubio; Alternative for Germany (AfD) demonstration
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Omer Messinger/Getty Images

Germany Claps Back After Marco Rubio Criticizes Them For Surveilling Far-Right Party

On Friday, MAGA Republican President Donald Trump's Secretary of State—and acting National Security Adviser—decided to criticize an ally for their handling of their own national security.

After learning Germany took action to protect against right-wing extremists, Rubio took to social media to attack their efforts and tell them what they should do while praising a White supremacist, neo-Nazi organization.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Alcatraz Island
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

Trump Ripped After Declaring That He Wants To Reopen Alcatraz As A Prison

President Donald Trump was criticized after he declared he wants to reopen Alcatraz as a prison "to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders"—only to receive immediate pushback for yet another of his harebrained ideas.

A former prison located on a small island of the same name just off the coast of San Francisco, Alcatraz once held some of the country’s most notorious criminals and was considered one of the most secure facilities of its time.

Keep ReadingShow less
Guy cringing
Photo by Kawin Harasai on Unsplash

People Reveal What Made Them Immediately Think 'Nope' While On A Date

The dating scene is meant to be fun, but sometimes it's really heartbreaking or awkward.

But every once in a while, something happens that feels so gross, there's no way there's going to be another date after that.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Trump Blasted After Sharing Bonkers AI Image Of Himself As The Pope

President Donald Trump was criticized after he shared an AI-generated image of himself in papal attire just days after telling reporters that he'd "like to be pope" following the death of Pope Francis.

Trump said that he himself "would be my number one choice" to be the next pope after he was asked who he’d like to see become the next pontiff. That would never, ever happen—and disrespects the billions of Catholics around the world who are in mourning.

Keep ReadingShow less