Silicone sea bream lure Japanese anglers

Japanese scientists say the only way to tell real fish from the robotic kind is by close inspection of their eyes

February 25, 1999
Web posted at: 1:48 p.m. EST (1848 GMT)

TOKYO (CNN) -- Japan has reported a new leap in robot technology -- an artificial fish that looks and swims exactly like the real thing.

Scientists at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries took four years to develop the robotic fish, for use in the popular fish farms where Japanese like to practice their angling skills.

The silicone sea bream created by Mitsubishi weighs 2 1/2 kilograms (5.5 pounds), is about half-a-meter long (half-a- yard) and can swim for up to 30 minutes before its battery needs recharging. Some observers have said the robotic fish is so lifelike that only close inspection of its mechanical eye gives it away.

The movement of the fish fins, which is controlled by a computer, mimics the complex technology used to keep a submarine hovering, said Yuuji Terada, from Mitsubishi's electronics research and development department.

Mitsubishi has been involved with developing and building ships and other ocean structures for more than a century.

The company spent $1 million to create the robotic fish and a special tank, which is lined with scores of tiny sensors that transmit the movement messages from computer terminals to the fish.

Plans to build a "virtual aquarium," filled with extinct sea creatures are in the works by Mitsubishi, which has already succeeded in producing a model of a coelacanth fish weighing 40 kilograms (88 pounds) and measuring 1.2 meters (yards) in length.

"If this technology disseminates well enough, the cost could go down and we might have (the fish displayed) in our entrance hall," Terada said. "But, at this point, I really cannot say that is happening."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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