The project was developed by students of computer science and mechatronics at Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, affiliated with the GEKON Bionics Research Group. Their robot looks like a jellyfish and is used to test the quality of water without having a negative impact on the environment.
Not only does it look like a jellyfish, but it also moves like one. The robot, modelled on a jellyfish, is equipped with measuring equipment for non-invasive water testing. Students from UKW’s Department of Mechatronics have already tested the device, using Europe’s deepest swimming pool Deepspot in Mszczonów near Warsaw. The jellyfish was then tested in a natural environment – the students immersed it in the waters in Tlen. Thanks to its flexible shell, the robot moves by imitating the jellyfish’s natural movements.
The realisation of the device’s design is a direct adaptation of the jellyfish’s natural movement for water quality testing. Bionics, as a science, is drawing inspiration for the best adapted solutions from nature and their implementation in technology. The jellyfish moves in a measured motion, without agitating the water or the bottom of the tank, and is lifted by underwater currents, as are pollutants. These are ideal conditions for non-invasive tracking of water clarity. The device is now equipped with a temperature sensor, a water turbidity sensor, an accelerometer and a GPS module, allowing it to monitor factors that affect changes in the aquatic environment and, consequently, the welfare of living organisms. The jellyfish is also equipped with an autonomous ascent system, which is the result of cooperation between senior students and a doctoral student from our Faculty,’ says project supervisor Dr Zuzanna Kunicka-Kowalska.
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The project was made possible thanks to financial support from the Minister of Education and Science as part of the Student Scientific Circles Create Innovations programme. The jellyfish project has already won first prize. It won a distinction in the National Inter-University Competition of Young Masters, which is organised by the Programme Council of the XXIX ICT Forum.
photo: Michał Rosiak
source: Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz(https://www.ukw.edu.pl/
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