Can a machine swim in the sea without getting any rust on it? Or imagine a robotic fish. What we used to see in cartoons is now very much real and a part of science! Meet Belle, an autonomous underwater robotic fish that collects underwater DNA samples. Belle doesn’t cause any harm to the sensitive underwater ecology it explores. Thus Belle is your friendly and gentle robot fish that helps scientists explore the sea. Robots like Belle play a very important role in marine research.
Wondering how Belle came into being? ETH Zurich mechanical engineering students have designed this AI-created fish. The best thing about this fish is that it behaves and swims like a real fish. This feature helps Belle to travel through marine areas while collecting the data scientists need. Certainly, isn’t it awesome that every day when you wake up, AI Technology has something new to introduce? Well, to be aware of the new AI technologies, stay tuned to AI Ideology and explore more! So let us introduce the latest AI invention in the marine industry.
The Rise Of AI In The Underwater World:
Technology in the marine industry develops AI-based monitoring and control. The marine industry now enters a new era of technology and is now improving research data. Therefore, it is gaining more and more attention from marine researchers who want to explore the underwater world without disturbing underwater life. For this purpose, recent news explains that a robotic autonomous fish is designed. For details about this fish, keep on reading this blog.
Who Is Belle – The Autonomous Fish?

Belle gives you a perfect image of the creatures that live under the water. Researchers have created a fish robot. It never harms the marine environment even while collecting the research data.
About Belle:
Purpose Of Creating Belle, Robotic Fish:
Researchers want to understand how human activities affect marine life, thus they create robot fish like Belle. Moreover, they create focused policies by studying e-DNA samples and video footage that Belle records.
Features Of Belle:
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- Belle is a 3-foot-long robot that uses AI technologies to collect DNA research data from underwater creatures.
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- Belle has the qualities of being silent, swimming like a fish, and not leaving a noisy wake on her path.
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- It uses AI technology to move and record high-resolution video and individual e-DNA samples alone.
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- The fins that move back and forth have the support of a pump system that swings the movement.
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- Additionally, its soft tail is like a fish’s motion. It swims without disturbing the water or causing unrest. Indeed, this makes it easy for it to mix in with other marine life.
- Belle presents a rare chance to research more unique marine environments that are affected by overfishing. Other factors that affect marine life are pollution and climate change. In contrast to larger, dangerous autonomous underwater vehicles, Belle is a calm creation of AI.
What Is e-DNA?
It is the genetic material that underwater living things release is environmental DNA (e-DNA). Researchers can process e-DNA to learn new things about marine life by collecting samples of fluid or tissue components.
Why Choose AI Technology For Marine Researches?
The use of AI in marine environments is not new to marine biologists. However, it is now more common than ever and is growing rapidly. Before, it was more time-taking to research manually underwater, but not anymore. AI is now used to recognize and differentiate between many fish species as well as individual fish. This is because some species have unique patterns that are specific to each specie.
However, according to biologists, AI allows there is no need to trap and microchip fish. As a result, they can collect data while reducing their impact on marine life.
Understanding Large Data With The Help Of AI
Marine ecosystems are huge and hence difficult to study. Therefore, its data is also complex to understand and manage. The human-work takes a lot of time. On the other hand, observations are automatically taken by artificial intelligence. AI quickly receives and derives information on the different species of fish. Whether it is their sizes or any new findings about them, AI has it all. Moreover, researchers also say that AI is gentler than cultural research methods.
Belle And Its Origin – What Do Its Designers Say?
As we already mentioned that the ETH Zurich students designed Belle. They say: “The goal to make Belle was to develop a platform that openly blends in with the ecosystem and is acknowledged as such. That’s why we created a fish that acts like a fish and is recognized as such by other marine life.” Moreover, they said that they wanted to capture marine life as it naturally exists.
Although AI has already reached above the sky and below the land, it also has captured the depth of the ocean. The robotic fish’s creators hope it will help marine biologists research the health and uniqueness of different ecosystems.
Belle Is Not The First Robotic Fish: Introducing SoFi:
From past many years, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have been working hard to discover underwater life. Within this duration, they went through many challenges. Finally, in the year 2018, they were successful in creating a silicone remote-controlled robotic fish. It was the most advanced SoFi robotic fish ever made. This fish can swim at a depth of 50 feet for about 40 minutes. The interesting fact is that it swims like a real fish around the ocean. This fish has a built-in camera with high resolution. The camera “fisheye lens” is used for photos and videos, which could get close to ocean creatures. It gives a good insight into sea creatures. Scientists have built SoFi in such a way that they can study aquatic life.
The Purpose of Inventing SoFi:
Scientists are interested in thoroughly investigating marine life in light of climate change. Scuba diving by humans isn’t actually helpful for their research on marine life. Some animals are difficult to observe up close. SoFi Fish might serve as the quiet eyes and ears of marine biologists.
AI In The Human World: What Connects Them?
The demand for AI’s skills in every field of technology is continuously growing. The development of AI systems needs a large amount of time, which cannot occur without human involvement. Robotics, self-driving cars and more complex tools like computer vision and natural language processing are all examples of artificial intelligence systems that depend on human intelligence.
Human Intelligence VS Artificial Intelligence: What Does The Future Hold?
Mathematical techniques designed by humans make Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. They take advantage of ever-increasing processing capacity to produce quicker and more precise models. Additionally, they forecast operational systems or improved representations and combinations of massive amounts of data.
Indeed, human intelligence shapes the development and uptake of artificial intelligence and the creative solutions linked to it. Human intelligence is what uses critical thinking to investigate “why” and examine “what if.”
End Note:
The ETH Zurich team forecasts a time in the future when robots like Belle will take charge of marine conservation. Additionally, these robots will assist humanity in comprehending and protecting our priceless oceans. Belle is unquestionably leading the way with the strength of Al and a strong appreciation for the undersea world.
In short, a new age in marine research has begun because of Belle’s silent existence in the ocean depths. It is becoming increasingly obvious that the future of underwater data collection lies in the delicate motions of a robotic fish. Moreover, experts continue to investigate the possibilities of this ground-breaking AI technology. For more updates and the latest news on artificial intelligence, keep in touch with AI Ideology.
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