In the last few months we have seen quite a lot of robotic fish, capable of swimming freely in the water (or at least, inside a bowl or aquarium), designed by research institutes for a wide range of possible purposes, ranging from monitoring of waters’ health all the way to behavioral studies on other (real) fish.

This latest example of robotic fish, produced in Japan by Sedensha, is capable of replicating the movements of a small fish in a pretty accurate way, thanks to its silicone body, which on the inside houses an equally small chip.

This chip is what actually determines the fish’s direction, y simply sending some very small electrostatic impulses to its flexible body, which in turn will respond to the stimulus by turning left or right, climbing up or heading down with a sinuous shake of its tail.

To make this motion more realistic and smooth, and avoid the typical “stop and go” movement that many of his peers sport, this cute micro robot’s body has been filled with silicone oil. By doing this, every shake of the tail is smoother and its movement is as realistic as it may get.

For now it is unknown how they are planning to use it, as it is just a prototype now, with a cute look thanks to the small eyes (not real, of course) mounted on the front, which give it a friendly demeanor, at least in the eyes of humans. If we were other fishes swimming in the same bowl with him, we would certainly wonder who this strange guy is, but it looks like no one asked the other fishes’ opinion!