A robot that moves like a fish, a suit with artificial muscles, a heart-lung machine for babies, and a technique for spinning yarn out of used clothing – these are just four of the ideas that ETH Zurich Bachelor’s students of Mechanical Engineering have pursued as part of focus projects over the past year. On 30 May, the teams will present their products to the public.
For the SURF-eDNA project, students are developing an autonomous underwater robot that moves like a fish and does so virtually noiselessly. This robot can film underwater and collect samples that provide a picture of which organisms live in a given environment. It has a built-in filter with which it collects fragments of DNA present in the water. The robot is propelled by a silicone fin, into which water is pumped in cycles. As the robot can move almost silently, it can be deployed in sensitive ecosystems without disrupting them.
