A team led by Dai Owaki, associate professor in Tohoku University's Department of Robotics, has demonstrated how mild electric pulses can guide jellyfish swimming behavior. Using lightweight AI, they also successfully predicted the animals' movement speeds, advancing the development of low-energy biohybrid ocean probes.
"Jellyfish cyborgs" are promising tools for tracking coral health, detecting oil spills, and studying oceanic shifts with negligible environmental impact. Unlike traditional underwater vehicles, they require no motors or batteries, preserving the surrounding ecosystem.
"Our research team posed two interconnected questions," says Owaki. "First, can we identify a pulse pattern that the jellyfish accepts, enabling it to swim at predetermined speeds without undue stress? Second, once the jellyfish responds to these signals, can we develop a compact AI tool capable of predicting its movement in any direction? By addressing these inquiries, we can pave the way for low-energy, environmentally friendly oceanic probes."
Collaborators included Max Austin and Kohei Nakajima from The University of Tokyo, along with Shuhei Ikeda and Kazuya Okuizumi from Kamo Aquarium in Yamagata Prefecture. Their setup involved placing miniature electrodes on the jellyfish's muscle ring to deliver pulses every 1.5 to 2 seconds. The resulting motion was tracked and modeled in 3D.
Findings showed that the best propulsion occurred when artificial pulses matched the jellyfish's natural rhythm. These signals were fed into a "physical reservoir" AI system that integrated the animal's body as part of its processing, successfully forecasting motion across directions.
"We were intrigued to discover that the most effective control signals were not the rapid pulses, but rather those that mirrored the jellyfish's natural rhythm," adds Owaki. "Attempts to use stronger or faster pulses led to decreased swimming efficiency and erratic movement, underscoring the importance of aligning with the rhythms of nature, rather than opposing them."
This concept-where an organism contributes to computation-could reshape future soft robotics and environmental science. Cyborg jellyfish might one day patrol oceans autonomously, gathering critical climate data with minimal disruption.
Jellyfish were selected for their unmatched energy efficiency in swimming, providing a model for integrating soft biological structures with electronic control in a mutually beneficial system.
Research Report:Harnessing Natural Embodied Intelligence for Spontaneous Jellyfish Cyborgs
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