Tide peaks in Venice. Here go the fish-drones

We are used to see them sever the sky, but this time they are more similar to fish than to birds.

It is drones created by ENEA, in cooperation with the University of Rome Tor Vergata, ISPRA and the Corp of the Harbor’s Master Offices to protect Venice against the tide peaks.

A distinguishing feature of those robot fish is their shoal structure: each drone constitutes a knot of the net that connects with the other by means of an optical system which operates only in clean water and at short distances, as well as an acoustic system adapted to polluted water.

The technology offers numerous possible applications: from underwater surveillance of oil carriers, gas pipelines and ports to the rescue activities; from the monitoring of migrating flows to the surveillance of the marine flora and fauna.

In the near future Enea is going to implement the technology by creating an “underwater highway.” This refers to a project that could be executed through the installation of an optical and acoustic multi-channel modem  which owing to the exchange of information among drones will send data to the surface at a speed of one megabit per second.