Researchers at the State University of New York's Binghamton University have developed a self-propelled “bug” that can jump in water, and they hope it will revolutionize aquatic robotics.
Futurists predict that more than a trillion autonomous nodes will be integrated into all human activity by 2035 as part of the “Internet of Things.” Soon, anything – big or small – will feed information into a central database without the need for human involvement.
Complicating this idea is that 71% of the Earth's surface is covered in water, and aquatic environments pose significant environmental and logistical problems. To address these challenges, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has launched a program called Ocean of Things.
Over the past decade, Binghamton University Professor Seokheun “Sean” Choi — a faculty member in the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of the Center for Research in Advanced Sensing Technologies and Environmental Sustainability. (creates) — has received research funding from the Office of Naval Research to develop bacteria-powered biobatteries with a potential 100-year shelf life. Choi, along with Anwar Al-Hadad, PhD '24, and PhD student Yang “Lexi” Gao, developed the self-driving bug.
Newer aquatic robots use similar technology because they are more reliable in adverse conditions than solar, kinetic or thermal energy systems. A genus interface, which is hydrophilic on one side and hydrophobic on the other, allows nutrients to be obtained from water and stored within the device to fuel bacterial spore production.
“When the environment is favorable for the bacteria, they become vegetative cells and produce energy,” he said, “but when conditions are not favorable — for example, it's really cold or nutrients are lacking. are not available — they go back that way, we can extend the operational life.”
The Binghamton team's research showed a power output of about 1 milliwatt, which is enough to power the robot's mechanical motion and any sensors that collect environmental data such as water temperature, pollution levels, commercial ships and airplanes. can track the movement, and behavior of aquatic animals. Animals
Being able to send robots wherever they're needed is a clear upgrade from current “smart floats,” which are stationary sensors anchored in one place.
The next step in improving these aquatic robots is testing which bacteria will be best suited to generate energy in stressful ocean conditions.
“We used very common bacterial cells, but we need to do more studies to find out what actually lives in these areas of the ocean,” Choi said. “Previously, we showed that a combination of multiple bacterial cells can improve durability and strength, so that's another idea. Perhaps using machine learning, we can improve strength density and durability. can find the optimal combination of bacterial species for