Fishes’ Super Sensors Suggest Ways to Reduce Accidents

Function

At aquariums or on television, you may have seen a school of fish all change their direction simultaneously without ever bumping into each other. How are fish able to do this? The secret lies in its lateral line: a single line that runs across the center of each side of a fish from its head to its tail fin. The lateral line has tactile and auditory functions that help the fish sense the subtlest movements and sounds in the water around it, making it aware of any changes to its surroundings, including its proximity to other fish.

Functional Classification

Resouce/Energy/Information Collection & Storage:
Location detection
Transfer/Dispose/Circulate:
Movement

Environmental Solution Classification

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Technical Application

There has been a recent boom in research on intelligent transportation systems (ITS), using cutting-edge communications and information technologies to prevent accidents and traffic congestion. The ability of a fish’s lateral lines to grasp subtle changes in water pressure is an excellent example of high-efficiency sensors at work in nature. Furthermore, in terms of possible technological applications, researchers have been interested in understanding the relation between each individual fish’s algorithms used to process input signals and the actions of the entire school of fish.

Products and Services

Type of Business

Proposals of Applied Technology

A society without traffic accidents is possible with the development of high-efficiency sensors and group regulation systems based on the ability of schools of fish to move from right to left while maintaining a fixed distance from one another.

Proposals of Applied Industry

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