Electric sensing for underwater navigation (original) (raw)

Underwater navigation in turbid water for exploration in catastrophic conditions or navigation in confined unstructured environments is still a challenge for robotics. In these conditions, neither vision nor sonar can be used. Pursuing a bio-inspired approach in robotics, one can seek solutions in nature to solve this difficult problem. Several hundred fish species in families Gymnotidae and Mormyridae have developed an original sense well adapted to this situation: the electric sense. Gnathonemus petersii first polarizes its body with respect to an electric organ discharge located at the base of its tail and generates a dipolar electric field in its near surroundings. Then, using many transcutaneous electro-receptors distributed along its body, the fish “measures” the distortion of the electric field and infers an image of its surroundings. Understanding and implementing this bio-inspired sense offers the opportunity to enhance the navigation abilities of our underwater robots in c...