AquaJellies 2.0

Year

2013

The idea

Just like their natural counterparts, a swarm of artificial jellyfish moves apparently without effort through the water and exhibits cooperative behaviour.

The objective

The electrically powered AquaJellies 2.0 are able to autonomously make decisions within a confined space.

Technical data

• Servo motors: 2
• Infrared receiver units: 11
• Infrared transmitter LEDs: 14
• Pressure and temperature sensor: 1
• Microprocessors: 3
• Battery: lithium-ion polymer, 3.7 V, capacity 3000 mA/h
• Drive: bell-type armature motor, 3 V
• Gearbox: upstream planetary gearbox, transmission ratio 1:180
• Main processor: microcontroller, 20 MHz

Operating principle

The swarm develops cooperative behaviour without defined control of the overall system. For this purpose, the robots are provided with integrated communication and sensor technology. A processor monitors the position of the drive system.

Real-time diagnostics

The parameters battery status, temperature, power consumption and position can be called up by means of real-time diagnostics. An app can be used to track the current status of the individual jellyfish and their communication with each other.

Design

The AquaJellies consist of a transparent dome, a central pressure corpus and eight tentacles for propulsion. The dome is fitted with an annular control board that includes integrated infrared, pressure and radio sensors.

Tentacles

Eight tentacles, designed as an adaptive Fin Ray structure, are addressed in sequence to produce a wave-like pumping motion similar to the peristaltic propulsion of natural jellyfish.

Material

AquaJellies 2.0