In an effort to better understand our world's oceans, scientists headed by Shashank Priya have created a giant robotic jellyfish. How big is it, you ask? The robot, named Cyro, stands an impressive 5 feet 7 inches tall, and weighs 170 pounds.
Cyro is based off an earlier, smaller jellyfish robot from 2012, but the scientists chose to make it bigger this time around.
"A larger vehicle will allow for more payload, longer duration and longer range of operation," said Alex Villanueva, a member of Priya's team. "Biological and engineering results show that larger vehicles have a lower cost of transport, which is a metric used to determine how much energy is spent for traveling."
A jellyfish was chosen as the model because of their widespread habitat, and relatively low-energy lifestyle. In addition, they come in an array of shapes, sizes, and colors, giving researchers more room for customization.
The team was able to construct a jellyfish-esque silicone skin for Cyro, and they hope to make the final product, which is still years away, be able to float for months on end and collect data about marine life and the environment. Other uses can be imagined, but for now, the scientists are concerned with improving Cyro in a couple areas.
"We hope to improve on this robot and reduce power consumption and improve swimming performance as well as better mimic the morphology of the natural jellyfish," Villanueve explained. "Our hopes for Cyro's future is that it will help understand how the propulsion mechanism of such animal scales with size."
What uses can you think of for a robotic jellyfish?
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