The lateral-line system allows them to sense objects nearby

Aug 29, 2009 10:55 GMT  ·  By
Next-gen robots could be endowed with a sixth sense that will make them more proficient and autonomous in accomplishing their tasks
   Next-gen robots could be endowed with a sixth sense that will make them more proficient and autonomous in accomplishing their tasks

The amazing ability that fish have of essentially touching objects around them without actually coming in physical contact with them comes from their unique sensory system, called the lateral-line. This allows them to sense obstacles in their paths, and to steer clear of predators. Robotics engineers are currently developing new biomimetics technologies that will one day effectively allow future generations of robots to be able to do the same thing. The efforts are spearheaded by scientists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen, led by Leo van Hermmen, a professor in the Physics Department.

It has long been established that humans are only able to experience a limited amount of the information around them. For example, infrared and ultraviolet light, as well as X-rays and gamma-rays remain hidden from us. Some animals have developed specialized organs for identifying an extra “slice of reality,” and the lateral-line in fish and some amphibians is one of these systems. Van Hermmen, who is the chair of theoretical biophysics at TUM, has been interested in replicating this organ artificially for quite some time now.

He gives the example of pike and pickerel, which are able to detect their preys even in murky waters, where little sunlight penetrates in depth and the eyes are not of much use. The same thing can be said about the blind Mexican cave fish, which can navigate obstacles in darkness with ease, and does not bump into anything in its environment. The lateral-line, in these species, operates by sensing small disturbances in water flow around the fish, and acts as a complementary, back-up system to all other senses. The active “sensors” are gelatinous, flexible, flag-like units about a tenth of a millimeter long.

“Technology has overtaken nature in some domains, but lags far behind in the cognitive processing of received sense impressions. My dream is to endow robots with multiple sensory modalities. Instead of always building in more cameras, we should also along the way give them additional sensors for sound and touch,” van Hermmen says of his future robots. He believes that lateral-line-endowed robots could safely navigate both in the air and in the water, as well as among large crowds of people, without everyone else having to get out of its way.

Cave systems and deep-sea volcanoes or hydrothermal vents could also be explored a lot easier by machines that can “sense” their way around, without the need for constant human supervision. Underwater reconnaissance and search&rescue systems could also become more proficient, and not depend on light to accomplish their objective, the expert concludes.