Inspired by jellyfish, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) in Stuttgart, Germany, have developed a jellyfish-like robot that could one day clear the world’s oceans of trash.

Built with electrohydraulic actuators wherein electricity flows, the actuators function as artificial muscles that power the so-called Jellyfish Bot. Air cushions and both soft and rigid components surround these artificial muscles, stabilizing and waterproofing the robot, according to the robot’s developers. As such, the high voltage coursing through the actuators will not be in contact the surrounding water.

Source: Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS)

Causing the robot’s muscles to contract and expand is the electricity that periodically runs through the network of thin wires in the robot. Developers of the Jellyfish Bot suggest that this activity enables the robot to swim and create swirls beneath its body.

"When a jellyfish swims upwards, it can trap objects along its path as it creates currents around its body. In this way, it can also collect nutrients. Our robot, too, circulates the water around it. This function is useful in collecting objects such as waste particles. It can then transport the litter to the surface, where it can later be recycled. It is also able to collect fragile biological samples such as fish eggs. Meanwhile, there is no negative impact on the surrounding environment. The interaction with aquatic species is gentle and nearly noise-free," the researchers explained.

As such, the researchers envision the Jellyfish Bots — either traveling independently or within a group of other such devices — moving and trapping objects like waste without physical contact.

The Jellyfish Bot is detailed in the article, “A versatile jellyfish-like robotic platform for effective underwater propulsion and manipulation,” which appears in the journal Science Advances.