Published: 15:53, October 24, 2025
AI-powered bionic jellyfish robot dives into deep-sea exploration
By Qin Feng in Xi’an and Chen Meiling
The jellyfish robot developed by Northwestern Polytechnical University aims to help in deep-sea exploration. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

A research team from Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, has developed a highly biomimetic robot that combines artificial intelligence (AI) with a design modeled after real jellyfish, opening new possibilities for deep-sea exploration.

The jellyfish robot developed by Northwestern Polytechnical University aims to help in deep-sea exploration. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
The jellyfish robot developed by Northwestern Polytechnical University aims to help in deep-sea exploration. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Named Underwater Phantom, the 120-millimeter-wide, 56-gram robot features a transparent body and electrohydraulic artificial muscles. The system consumes only 28.5 milliwatts of power, enabling near-silent, energy-efficient, and long-term movement. The machine's AI is used for autonomous navigation and environmental sensing.

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Developed at the Ministry of Education's Key Laboratory of Micro & Nano Systems for Aerospace, the project marks a step toward more intelligent and eco-friendly ocean exploration technologies.

 

Liu Xueru contributed to this story.