VIDEO: Harvard’s robot fish could help with development of automated vehicles

Schools of fish are often cited as a system in nature to which the developers of automated vehicles can aspire. If cars could move as seamlessly as a school of fish, then roadway congestion would be vastly reduced, even as capacity increases. Now, researchers from Harvard John A Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have proven it is possible for AI to be developed that can autonomously mimic this fishlike behavior. These swimming robots can synchronize their movements like a real school of fish, without any external control. It is the first time researchers have demonstrated complex 3D collective behaviors with implicit coordination in underwater robots, and it could also have implications for land and air vehicles.