Japanese Robot Fish To Help Prevent Car Crashes?

[Logan Westbrook]

Japanese Robot Fish To Help Prevent Car Crashes?

A Japanese car company has developed a robotic fish that can move in shoals and hopes it might contribute to road safety.

Robots have been humanity's friends since their inception, despite what you might have seen in anti-robot propaganda movies like Terminator. The list of friendly robots is a long and illustrious one, including such luminaries as Johnny 5, Lieutenant Commander Data, The Autobots, and now joining that list, the Eporo.

The Eporo are three-wheeled robots designed by Nissan in Japan that can move in a shoals like fish. They keep track of the distance between themselves using laser rangefinders and are in constant radio communication with their neighbors.

Nissan hope that the Eporo will help in developing technology that would cut down on car accidents.
"We, in a motorised world, have a lot to learn from the behaviour of a school of fish in terms of each fish's degree of freedom and safety," said Toshiyuki Andou, Eporo's principle engineer.

Source: BBC [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8286500.stm]


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[microhive]

This could pave the way for unlicensed drivers to drive by letting computers drive for them. This would mean that under aged as well as handicapped would be able to drive. Although without the ability to manual overwrite unless you got some kind of license card. Think about the possibilities!

 

[LockHeart]

Wow, that's pretty nifty, and it seems like a damn good idea. Maybe this could lead to something like automatic driving - just put in your destination and the car, maybe with help from a city-wide or satellite system, goes there itself.

On second thoughs, maybe that's where Skynet's inevitable rise will occur...

 

[Distorted Stu]

They are just always making things better and better the Japanese!

 

[Sparrow]

I didn't even have to read the title, just seeing that picture makes me want one of those things.

 

[Joshimodo]

Let's just hope these cute little machines don't suddenly reminisce and feel homesick, and attempt to return to the sea while driving our cars.

 

[Rusty Bucket]

Does this mean that roads will look like the one from that Zurich advert? I have no idea what language that is.

 

[Abedeus]

This assumes everyone is willing to buy something like that... People don't like to wear seatbelts, which are free in every car, and they expect anyone to buy this? ;d

 

[Eric the Orange]

Wait, I'm confused how do these robot fish prevent accidents? Do you mean to say that the technology within the robot fish prevents accidents?

 

[microhive]

Wait, I'm confused how do these robot fish prevent accidents? Do you mean to say that the technology within the robot fish prevents accidents?

The technology yes.

 

[Aedes]

Awww, it looks so cute!
Technology is just amazing. Even though I have doubts that big masses of fishes can swim all toguether without hitting each other.
But who cares if we can make it better? Go go fishy!

 

[Insomniactk]

Awww, it looks so cute!
Technology is just amazing. Even though I have doubts that big masses of fishes can swim all toguether without hitting each other.
But who cares if we can make it better? Go go fishy!

They can, so can those green insects that can fly (Forgot the name <.<)

 

[Simalacrum]

its SHWEEEEET! look at the thing its adorable!

*ehem* OT, I think that this is another great innovation in robotics. Thing is though, when are they going to start seeing them impact our every day lives? Sure, they make nearly everything thats mass produced, etc... but I'm yet to see a robot walking around saving people's lives all over the place.

 

[KazNecro]

I'm surprised no one has commented on how these things look similar to Bloopers from the Mario games.

An interesting bit of tech, but I'm not quite convinced that this will improve our day to day lives. So far, I'm still looking at this as simply flashy technology that makes us all go "Ooo, Shiny!". I'd hate to think of the mayhem caused if these devices went glitchy during heavy traffic times, or while driving on mountain roads, or during a bad storm.

 

[Warhobo]

Robots have been humanity's friends since their inception, despite what you might have seen in anti-robot propaganda movies like Terminator.

...you're one of them, aren't you? Everyone, they have infiltrated The Escapist! RUN!

 

[Doug]

Robot fish help people escape from car accidents? Hollywood blockbuster awaits!

Narrator: "One fish thought today would be like any other day. Until... All hell broke loose"

*Montage of car crashing into each other*

Nissan scientist: "We need to stop all these crashes. We need... ROBOT FISH!"

Narrator over a factory forging a cybernic parts for fish: "Now this fish is going to show the world how to DRIVE!"

*Rock music to image of hundreds of cyber-fish floating fast over the streets*

Narrator: "This summer, the fish are coming onto the land in CYBERFISH!"

 

[ae86gamer]

I don't care what it does. All I know is that I want one of those things.

 

[Dan Shive]

The idea isn't that you put one of those little robots in your car. The idea is that the technology these robots use to keep track of each other could one day be applied to cars to help prevent accidents.