NTU scientists have invented a ‘sense-ational’ device, similar
to a string of ‘feelers’ found on the bodies of the Blind Cave
Fish, which enables the fish to sense their surrounding and so
navigate easily. Using a combination of water pressure and
computer vision technology, the sensory device is able to give
users a 3-D image of nearby objects and map its surroundings.
The possible applications of this fish-inspired sensor are
enormous. The sensor can potentially replace the expensive ‘eyes
and ears’ on Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), submarines
and boats that currently rely on cameras and sonars to gather
information about the environment around them. The
revolutionary, low-powered sensor is unlike cameras which cannot
see in dark or murky waters; or sonars whose sound waves pose
harm to some marine animals. These extremely small sensors (each
sensor is 1.8mm x 1.8mm) are now being used in AUVs developed by
researchers from Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and
Technology (SMART), a research centre