[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/5872\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ERobots to help humans on land, air and sea\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERobotics research across Europe is making huge leaps forward, demonstrating how the technology can protect humans in harsh conditions, make industry more efficient and help safeguard the environment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEU-funded projects are at the forefront of robotics research \u2013 and the results should have a big impact on how everyone from oil and gas companies to satellite operators, conservation organisations and search and rescue teams operate in future.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe EU-funded FILOSE project is creating an underwater robot that mimics the behaviour of fish and their interaction with their environment to increase efficiency and autonomy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProfessor Maarja Kruusmaa of the Tallinn University of Technology, in Estonia, said the project could lead to radically different underwater robots. At the moment, they generally use propellers, making them less efficient than fish. \u2018Nature is a huge, freely available patent database but it hasn\u2019t yet developed any creature that uses a propeller,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERobots navigate unknown undersea terrain by sonar. For Kruusmaa\u2019s team, the hunt is on to develop a robot that functions like\u0026nbsp;a fish and can\u0026nbsp;operate alone for longer periods of time than is currently the case through efficient energy consumption.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022img_legend\u0022 style=\u0022float: left;\u0022\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Professor Maarja Kruusmaa of the FILOSE project inspects an underwater robot that functions like a fish. \u00a9 Jelena Pljonkina\u0022 height=\u0022133\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/HO-Robotic-Filose-Maarjav2.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022Professor Maarja Kruusmaa of the FILOSE project inspects an underwater robot that functions like a fish. \u00a9 Jelena Pljonkina\u0022 width=\u0022200\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EProfessor Maarja Kruusmaa of the FILOSE project inspects an underwater robot that functions like a fish. \u00a9 Jelena Pljonkina\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003Cem\u003EProfessor Maarja Kruusmaa of the FILOSE project\u0026nbsp;inspects an underwater robot that functions like a fish. \u00a9 Jelena Pljonkina\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project was born from the observation that fish swim by making use of the flow of the water to propel them. To do this, they have to identify the vortices in the flow and for that they use a sophisticated sensing organ called a \u2018lateral line\u2019 that provides the fish with huge amounts of information about the \u2018flowscape\u2019 around it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018All 30\u0026nbsp;000 species of fish have this organ \u2013 but no underwater vehicle has a flow sensor. When we swim in water we just think \u201cit\u2019s cold, it\u2019s warm, it\u2019s wet\u201d,\u2019 Kruusmaa said. \u2018For a fish, it\u2019s like swimming in information, or listening to the radio.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project could lead to the development of more efficient underwater vehicles that could be used for environmental, search and rescue or oil and gas applications. In the meantime, a spin-off project could give something back to the fish. The information on how fish perceive the \u2018flowscape\u2019 is being used to help design better \u2018fish passes\u2019, which are special routes created to enable migrating fish to get back to their spawning grounds where otherwise a hydropower dam would have blocked them off.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAerial robot inspectors\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile, the AIRobots project, completed earlier this year and backed by the European Union, aimed to develop small inspection robots that could fly autonomously to carry out checks on big structures like dams and bridges \u2013 where erecting scaffolding and sending humans for the same task can be dangerous, time-consuming and expensive \u2013 gathering information through contact and ultrasonic sensors.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProject Coordinator Professor Lorenzo Marconi of the University of Bologna, Italy, said the big challenge was\u0026nbsp;designing a robot that could be controlled by a human\u0026nbsp;operator\u0026nbsp;as opposed to\u0026nbsp;a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) pilot.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The control system\u0026nbsp;had to have an easy interface so anyone could operate the vehicle,\u2019 said Marconi. In the end, the project came up with a system similar to a console for a video game,\u0026nbsp;where the operator\u0026nbsp;remotely guides the robot\u2019s movements via a joystick. \u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018Nature is a huge, freely available patent database but it hasn\u0026#039;t yet developed any creature that uses a propeller.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor Maarja Kruusmaa, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe ARCAS project aims to use aerial robots not only to gather information from the environment, but also to interact physically with it, in particular by assembling equipment and structures, using cooperating robots carrying manipulators with multiple joints.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project\u2019s general manager Professor Anibal Ollero of the University of Seville, Spain, believes the technology being explored could be useful in industry \u2013 repairing hard-to-access industrial complexes such as dams or reactors \u2013 as well as in space. \u2018It\u2019s exciting to consider that the project is being validated in realistic scenarios,\u2019 he said. The aerial robots are being developed to be able to assemble distant structures without the need for a human presence.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe aerial robot can transport and assemble on-site a ground robot to operate in an otherwise inaccessible environment and ARCAS is also developing free-flying robotic functionalities for satellite maintenance.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The project is going well and in the first validation experiments we obtained better results than could be expected for the first 17 months of the project,\u2019 said Professor Ollero.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERobots in industry\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the University of Nottingham, UK, the MiRoR project aims to develop a miniature robot that can be used to repair large and complex installations, such as aero-engines, power plants and offshore oil platforms, in situ.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project is developing systems that will allow the miniature robot to \u2018walk\u2019 and \u2018snake\u2019 its way into tight spots as well as an intelligent controller that will allow it to navigate to where it needs to be, decide itself on how to access the working area and learn from its experience.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProfessor Dragos Axinte of the University of Nottingham said: \u2018Initial prototypes of both the snake arm and walking free-leg hexapod (six-legged robot) have been tested and now the system demonstrators are developed. We hope to come soon to the academic and research communities with the practical results of MiRoR.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-t5lmtxlt4tox8b-xmzfi3xut2zfnkv5h5tgtbxbifnk\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-t5lMtXLt4Tox8B-XMZfi3XUt2ZFnkv5h5tGTbXbifNk\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]