In yet another sign that robots are replacing traditional ways of exploring and handling problems that require scientific attention, robots are being employed to scan for pollution of the Spanish coast.
A British firm called BMT has announced a project that would create robotic fish in order to assess and monitor water quality. All this would come at a fraction of the cost of hiring human divers. Termed SHOAL fish, these robotic creatures are the size of large tuna and can behave pretty much like living fish in the ocean.
The SHOAL come with on-board censors that can detect spillages, chemical leakages, and other hazardous materials in the water. When something suspicious is found, the SHOAL fish alerts port authorities so that they can mitigate the polluting effects. The SHOAL fish come in ornate and beautiful casing so that they can easily be spotted on the surface of the water.
The SHOAL fish would work in groups and are currently only available as prototypes. They are expected to first patrol the Gijon coast when they are commercially available. You might also want to take a look at the list of 21 Green Gadgets that we had compiled for the Earth Day.
