Maurizio Porfiri, an Assistant Professor of Engineering at the Polytechnic Institute of NYU, believes a robotic fish may one day help lure schools fish out of danger areas like those created by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Porfiri says the most difficult part of building the robotic fish has been determining what makes a fish a leader.
Porfiri says, "If you take a propeller and you put it into the water it may swim as fast as the fish, but the fish may not like it. If you can make something that can swim like a fish, then the fish may perceive it as a mate, even if it looks different."
You can read more about Porfiri's research here. Take a look:
Photo: Dr. Maurizio Porfiri and his Robot Fish/ Polytechnic Institute of New York University
