Shoal is a European Research Project Managed by BMT funded under the Seventh Framework Programme for ICT.
SHOAL aims to develop number of robotic fish that will work together in order to monitor and search for pollution in ports and other aquatic areas. Traditional methods of monitoring pollution involve getting samples in some way (divers) and then sending the samples back to the lab to be tested, the whole process takes time and makes real-time pollution information far from a reality. Shoal aims to make this process real-time. By having autonomously controlled fish with chemical sensors attached we aim to do these tests in-situ. Further to this the fish will also be given an intelligence so that if they do find significant amounts of pollution and they deduce it's comming from a source they will all work together to find the source of the pollution so that the port can stop the problem early before more pollution occurs.
The Development of SHOAL will focus on research in five key areas:
Advanced Intelligence and Swarm Intelligence
Intelligence for each individual fish and the development of a swarm AI details »
Robotic Design
The swimming mechanism, and mathematic models; motion control methods; and mechanical structure and sensors details »
Chemical Analysis
Explore and develop novel chemical sensor subsystems which can be integrated with the overall robot concept being developed details »
Underwater Communication
Develop an Underwater Mobile Ad-hoc Network (UMANet) in harsh environmental conditions details »