On a list of things we thought we would need a robot version of, jellyfish were somewhere around the absolute bottom. Science, however, works in some mysterious ways. Our latest advancement in technology is a robot that continuously propels itself, without really ever having to come back into human contact for a recharge. It just so happens that the creature whose shape best suited the experiment happened to be one of our prettiest and most gelatinous sea critters.

 

The “Robojelly”, which thankfully comes without any stinging power, is bell-shaped and relies on a combination of oxygen and hydrogen gases to contract and release its appropriately jelly-looking “muscle”. This “muscle”, according to an abstract featured in the April issue of Smart Materials and Structures consists of “nano-platinum catalyst-coated multi-wall carbon nanotube sheets, wrapped on the surface of nickel—titanium shape memory alloy.” While that’s practically Schi-Fi jargon for many to take in, the important part is that this combination makes the device capable of moving around in water. It makes its structure very close to that of a living jellyfish.

The Robojelly is actually rather important. Because it is self-propelled and the first of its kind, it opens up a lot of possibilities for underwater exploration. It has already received backing from the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research. Scientists hope that the Robojelly will be extremely useful for underwater rescue operations in the future, but many are already interested in it for filming purposes. Some see it as new potential underwater surveillance while others ponder how nice of a camera can be attached to the little underwater bugger, to experience deep sea dives without leaving the couch. We’ll see what the future has in store for the Robojelly somewhere down the line, but for now viewers can enjoy a little video of the device in action below:

Check out a full breakdown at IOP Blog!