In nature, fish are able to swim flexibly and avoid obstacles in complex and changing water currents, mainly due to the lateral line system on both sides of the body that can sense changes in water flow. The reporter learned from the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on the 21st that, inspired by this phenomenon, the researchers of the Institute developed a bionic side line sensor called FlowSight, which enables underwater robots to accurately sense the changes in water flow and swim flexibly like fish. The relevant research results were published online in the IEEE Transactions on Robotics. Underwater robots can replace humans to complete high-risk underwater operations. "However, the current underwater robot has problems such as insufficient navigation accuracy, difficulty in perceiving water flow information, and the level of intelligence to be improved," said Zhang Tiandong, the first author of the paper and assistant researcher of the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In this study, FlowSight used a flexible silicone tentacle that mimics the lateral nerve crest of fish for water flow sensing. When the water flows into the tendrils, the camera hidden inside will capture the subtle changes in the tendrils' bending. By intelligently analyzing these curved patterns, the device can read the water flow code and directly calculate the water flow velocity and direction, with a speed measurement error of only 3% and a direction measurement error of less than 1%, without the need for any other auxiliary equipment. At the same time, researchers installed FlowSight sensors on the biomimetic underwater robot RoboDact for testing. The test results show that RoboDact can sense changes in water flow and automatically adjust its swimming posture like a real fish. It can not only move forward against the water flow, but also flexibly turn according to the water flow situation. ”Zhang Tiandong said that in the future, it will be of great use in underwater exploration, ecological monitoring and other scenarios. (New Society)