Visualization of Phototaxis by a Jellyfish-controlled Robot

Abstract

Some species of jellyfish exhibit intelligent behavior through phototaxis. This phenomenon is difficult to observe and analyze in an aquarium or the natural environment. To clarify this type of intelligence of jellyfish, the phototaxis should be visualized so that we can analyze it quantitatively. Therefore, we developed a mobile robot that is controlled by a living jellyfish. The small chamber with a jellyfish was mounted on the robot. the jellyfish's movement inside the chamber was recorded by a small camera. Optical flows, as bio-data, were estimated in real-time based on the recorded video data. As a result, we observed the robot can follow the light source by reflecting the bio-data.