First intelligent robotic whale shark in history transforms marine technology

Shenyang-based business has fabricated a whale shark in the form of the first intelligent robotic whale shark. Consequently, we can say that this initiative is a major improvement in the field of underwater technology that is beneficial to marine biology. The company is the source of the advanced underwater robot acting under the sea.

This robot is the product of Shenyang Aerospace Xinguang Group in cooperation with the Third Academy of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Limited. The whale shark weighs a maximum of 5 meters in length and has a weight of 350 kg, and is designed to mimic the whale shark’s motion realistically. It is almost identical in terms of swimming, turning, floating, diving, and mouth motions as the natural one, the robot whale shark functions exactly like a whale shark.

“By now, the biggest moving fish our center produced is this whale shark,” said Gao Chao, Shenyang Aerospace Xinguang Group‘s Underwater Propulsion Technology Research engineer. “Moving the whale shark requires computing, communication, and sensing across all the seven actuated joints, respectively, which are the primary technologies of the group we have mastered.

”The robots’ utilization of their multi-joint bionic propulsion, wireless remote control, and programmed swimming empower them with the latest machinery. It can be used to dive down to the 20m deep and reach the impressive maximum speed of 0.7m/s. Besides, it has an underwater camera for the vehicle to perform specific tasks, a suite of sensors including sonar to identify underwater terrain and surfa contacting sensors, and it is equipped with BeiDou positioning systems.

Fang Xuelin, assistant director of the Underwater Propulsion Technology Research added this particular comment: “In underwater work, our robots should encounter numerous impediments. They need to process data from multiple sensors to be able to accurately recognize surrounding environment just like the whale shark’s brain.

Future Prospects for Robotic Whale Sharks in Marine Exploration

”The artificial whale shark has a long list of positive aspects compared to other common underwater robotic mechanisms driven by propellers. The streamlined body of the robot that was fashioned after the whale shark can achieve almost zero entanglement with obstacles in the seascape hence by virtue of that, the marine ecosystem is saved as far as no contamination of water is concerned. The breakthrough of undersea robots that work more in kind to marine ecology is a piece of great news.

Shenyang Aerospace Xinguang Group has put the model of Yangtze finless porpoises, killer whales, and dolphins, and so on in the range of its bionic products and has been following the success of the example of a whale shark. The integration of intelligent technologies with bionic marine technology is what made the company a leader in underwater robotics research.

Prospects for Marine Exploration Future

Underwater robots, such as the intelligent whale shark, are becoming vital research and development tools as humans explores more and deeper into the ocean. These bionic robots are poised to transform marine operations and scientific research, opening the door for a new age of ocean exploration, thanks to developments in materials science, control systems, and artificial intelligence.

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