US Navy Develops Robot 'Jellyfish' Powered Exclusively by Seawater~

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[Reaganite Republican]

Potential military applications for 'Robojelly' 

nearly as infinite as it's hydrogen energy supply...

Robojelly in the lab

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Although still in early stages of development, researchers from Virginia Tech and UT at Dallas have created an amazing hydrogen-powered underwater drone that looks and moves like a jellyfish, pumping itself along via artificial muscles... 

Robojelly is the first successful underwater robot ever created that uses external hydrogen as it's only power source, while it appears the opaque, plastic blob would be all but undetectable by the enemy when deployed for recon. The unit also holds promise for various underwater rescue/salvage operations.

The impressive technology uses no electricity for motivation, rather hydrogen (and oxygen) from the seawater in which it sails... the only waste/exhaust released is more water. 

Yet inspiration from nature is nothing new to US military planners, as they've been working on micro-drones (MAVs) that mimic insects/hummingbirds in function and appearance for a few years now.

Just imagine a less-than-1" solar-powered unit with VTOL flight capabilities that could fly through bunker ventilation systems, looking for the right iris-scan to plunge a poison dart-into...  or hover/spy over, around, and inside an enemy installation undetected for years... or fly in choreographed swarms (with titanium chips) into enemy fighters' engine intakes, exploding their turbines the very moment they leave the ground and you'll have some idea what the Pentagon is up to these days.

Now if we only had a Commander-in-Chief we could trust will all these vicious little beasties...


Videos/more at Reaganite Republican


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ScienceSpaceRobots   BBC   Washington Times   Daily Mail (UK)

[Reaganite Republican]

***PING***

[Hot Tabasco]

while it appears the opaque, plastic blob would be all but undetectable by the enemy

...stupid idea because sooner, rather than later, it will ultimately be viewed as a food source by a larger fish.

[SampleMan]

Attach some C4 and send it to visit Iran’s Kilo submarines.

[Caipirabob]

I’m more concerned that if they get it working, Obama will make me drive one by next year.

[thackney]

Hydrogen-fuel-powered bell segments of biomimetic jellyfish
http://iopscience.iop.org/0964-1726/21/4/045013/article

Abstract
Artificial muscles powered by a renewable energy source are desired for joint articulation in bio-inspired autonomous systems. In this study, a robotic underwater vehicle, inspired by jellyfish, was designed to be actuated by a chemical fuel source. The fuel-powered muscles presented in this work comprise nano-platinum catalyst-coated multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) sheets, wrapped on the surface of nickel–titanium (NiTi) shape memory alloy (SMA). As a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen gases makes contact with the platinum, the resulting exothermic reaction activates the nickel–titanium (NiTi)-based SMA. The MWCNT sheets serve as a support for the platinum particles and enhance the heat transfer due to the high thermal conductivity between the composite and the SMA. A hydrogen and oxygen fuel source could potentially provide higher power density than electrical sources. Several vehicle designs were considered and a peripheral SMA configuration under the robotic bell was chosen as the best arrangement. Constitutive equations combined with thermodynamic modeling were developed to understand the influence of system parameters that affect the overall actuation behavior of the fuel-powered SMA. The model is based on the changes in entropy of the hydrogen and oxygen fuel on the composite actuator within a channel. The specific heat capacity is the dominant factor controlling the width of the strain for various pulse widths of fuel delivery. Both theoretical and experimental strains for different diameter (100 and 150 µm) SMA/MWCNT/Pt fuel-powered muscles with dead weight attached at the end exhibited the highest magnitude under 450 ms of fuel delivery within 1.6 mm diameter conduit size. Fuel-powered bell deformation of 13.5% was found to be comparable to that of electrically powered (29%) and natural jellyfish (42%).

Full technical article at link includes:
1. Introduction
2. Theoretical study on fuel-powered SMA
3. Experimental methods
4. Fuel-powered SMA vehicle design and testing
5. Comparison of experimental and theoretical results of fuel-powered SMA
6. Summary and conclusion

[Reaganite Republican]

“I’m more concerned that if they get it working, Obama will make me drive one by next year.”

And you thought the Volt was bad lol

[DManA]

With those pins sticking out of it it looks like the jelly fish from Hell.

[DManA]

Yes there’s near infinite amounts of hydrogen in the oceans but it’s all bonded to oxygen. How do they get around that?

[aruanan]

Robojelly is the first successful underwater robot ever created that uses external hydrogen as it's only power source,

it's = it is

[thackney]

They use platinum catalyst to free small amounts of Hydrogen, I believe.

[reed13k]

Turn it into a propeller and you have fuel free - though likely slow - ocean propulsion.

[ken5050]

Just wait until they start adding the stuff to KY jelly...man oh man..that will really be something...