Edible aquatic robots with Marangoni propulsion

Edible aquatic robots with Marangoni propulsion

Centimeter-scale aquatic robots could be used in environmental monitoring, exploration, and intervention in aquatic environments. However, existing robots rely on artificial polymers and commercial electronic components, which can pollute and disrupt sensitive ecological environments if they are not retrieved. To address these challenges, we describe a fully biodegradable and fully edible self-propelled device that leverages the Marangoni effect…

Edible aquatic robots could be eaten by fish to eliminate waste

If you're releasing a robot into the aquatic environment with no intention of retrieving it, that bot had better be biodegradable. Swiss scientists have gone a step better than that, with li'l robots that can be consumed by fish when their job is done.Continue ReadingCategory: Robotics, TechnologyTags: EPFL, Microbots, Fish, Aquaculture, Environment

Scientists from the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (EPFL) have managed to develop an aquatic robot that at the end of its useful life can be ingested by fish, in the search for alternatives to current environmental monitoring devices, created with plastics and electronic components. The robot, in the form of a small boat, can travel through the [...] The entry Swiss scientists develop an aquatic robot capable of becoming food for fish wa…