The only thing worse than jellyfish taking over the world's oceans might be robotic jellyfish taking over the world's oceans and spying on us. At this point we can't dismiss the possibility that both might be happening.
Well, the robot jellyfish invasion might still be a few years away, but the fact is that the mechanical creatures are being created, and the United States Navy is interested in deploying them against potential enemies.
Scientists and researchers at Virginia Tech University have engineered a robotic jellyfish dubbed "Cyro," which they hope will someday be capable of scouring the world's watery environments. Researchers expect Cyro could play a helpful role in the study of Earth's oceans, but with a five-year grant from the Navy backing the project, there's clearly another, less educational use for the robot in mind.
The Navy sees some potential in Cyro has an underwater surveillance device, especially since its jellyfish look would make it much less noticeable to suspicious eyes. "Mimicking a natural animal found in a region allows you to explore a lot better," Alex Villanueva, a graduate student at Virginia Tech working on the Cyro, told Wired.
Of course, there is the fact that the robot jellyfish seen in the video is really, really big and suspicious looking, but hey, Cyro is apparently still years away from seeing any active duty.
Cyro itself, though, is a very impressive piece of technology - and it runs completely on its own, with no controls required. As Wired notes, the Navy is currently developing an "unmanned underwater vehicle fleet," so the tech behind Cyro could be worth studying. The jellyfish is "an autonomous robot with eight mechanical legs ringing its metal chassis, designed to mimic the unique, efficient underwater propulsion of a jellyfish. Covered in silicone to replicate the jellyfish's wavy, bioluminescent mesoglea - the jelly, basically - the Cyro weighs a staggering 170 pounds."
The Navy hasn't committed to purchasing Cyro yet, so it's possible that the machine could end up being deployed for more civilian purposes (oceanography). Right now, though, just enjoy it as an interesting and weird science experiment.
