A recent graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University named Jefferson Talbot has turned one of his doodle drawings into an autonomous robotic fish created with 3D printing technology, which he hopes can be used in the pet fish industry, and to help researchers who need a close-up view of underwater ecosystems. Back in 2016, Talbot started drawing a skeleton of a fish in the margins of his notebook during class. Last summer, after watching his roommate “carefully lug” around his fish and bowl whenever leaving the dorm for a few days so the fish would stay healthy, Talbot came up with the idea of a robotic fish, as he thought that a robotic fish would be a lot easier to take care of.

During the more than 17 years of continuous warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have proven to pose the most serious threat to service members stationed in combat theaters. Mitigating this threat, as such, has emerged as a primary mission for engineering and design teams in both industry and the U.S. Department of Defense.    Additionally, research teams are well aware of the utility UAS can provide in the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) realm. Perimeters of harbors and land-based installations can be monitored and kept clear of obstacles and potential threats — without placing human lives in harm’s way.   

According to the Detroit News, Michigan Technological University is opening the Maritime Autonomy Research Site, which will give researchers a space to try out new technologies that would facilitate greater use of unmanned research and survey vessels. Located on Lake Superior’s Portage Canal in the Upper Peninsula city, the Maritime Autonomy Research Site is the first freshwater testing spot of its kind in the world, according to officials. A launch ceremony for the site was scheduled for Friday, August 10, and on the same day, a new organization called the Smart Ships Coalition was also scheduled to be announced.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University recently flew its UAS along the shorelines and above the water at Menard-May Park in Edgewater, Florida to capture high-resolution images and video of this area of Mosquito Lagoon, which is part of the Indian River Lagoon system. Organized and flown by faculty, staff and students from Embry-Riddle’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Science program, this aerial reconnaissance survey supports the Riverside Conservancy, which is a non-profit group dedicated to “restoring and preserving living shorelines in southeast Volusia County.”