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Cited by 77Soft Robotics and ApplicationsBiomimetic flight and propulsion mechanismsMicro and Nano Robotics

Low-power microelectronics embedded in live jellyfish enhance propulsion

Open access
Xu, Nicole W., Dabiri, John O.·2020·Science Advances
DOI 10.1126/sciadv.aaz3194PMC PMC6989144
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Abstract

A biohybrid robotic jellyfish uses less power than other types of aquatic robots and swims efficiently at enhanced speeds.

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Crossref · 10.1126/sciadv.aaz3194

Cites

6 of 6 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Naturally swimming, mature Aurelia exhibit a mean peak frequency of approximately 0.24 ± 0.11 Hz.

    “These studies found that naturally swimming, mature, Aurelia exhibit a mean peak frequency value of approximately 0 . 24 ± 0 . 11 Hz [13].”

    From Measurements and modeling of swimming speed dependence on stroke frequency in scyphozoan jellyfish (2026) · cites this paper as [13]

    The Results section on vertical free-swimming experiments reports a natural observed swimming frequency of 0.24 ± 0.11 Hz. However, the Device validation Results give 0.16 Hz as the mean peak frequency of natural contractions, and the cited passages do not establish that the animals were mature. The claim matches the numerical value but mislabels the measure. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Lab and field testing of these devices have demonstrated a nearly three-fold increase in swimming speed compared to uncontrolled swimming of the same distance.

    “Lab and field testing of these devices have demonstrated a nearly three-fold increase in swimming speed compared to uncontrolled swimming of the same distance.”

    From Measurements and modeling of swimming speed dependence on stroke frequency in scyphozoan jellyfish (2026) · cites this paper as [13]

    The Results section, “Enhanced swimming speeds up to 2.8 times,” reports a maximum speed enhancement of 2.8 ± 0.3 relative to swimming with the controller inactive. It describes trials in a saltwater tank, not field testing; it also defines the comparison by swimming speed, rather than explicitly by distance traveled. (LLM, conf=0.89)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Jellyfish swimming stroke frequency can be controlled in freely swimming animals by implanted microelectronics that electrically stimulate the subumbrellar muscle sheet.

    “Recent work has demonstrated that jellyfish swimming stroke frequency can be controlled in freely swimming animals by implanted microelectronics that electrically stimulate the subumbrellar muscle sheet [13, 24].”

    From Measurements and modeling of swimming speed dependence on stroke frequency in scyphozoan jellyfish (2026) · cites this paper as [13]

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 26

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  10. [11]Morimoto Y., Onoe H., Takeuchi S., Biohybrid robot powered by an antagonistic pair of skeletal muscle tissues. Sci. Robot. 3, eaat4440 (2018). 33141706
  11. [12]Webster V. A., Hawley E. L., Akkus O., Chiel H. J., Quinn R. D., Effect of actuating cell source on locomotion of organic living machines with electrocompacted collagen skeleton. Bioinspir. Biomim. 11, 036012 (2016). 27159923
  12. [13]V. A. Webster, K. J. Chapin, E. L. Hawley, J. M. Patel, O. Akkus, H. J. Chiel, R. D. Quinn, Aplysia californica as a novel source of material for biohybrid robots and organic machines, in Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems. Living Machines 2016. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, N. Lepora, A. Mura, M. Mangan, P. Verschure, M. Desmulliez, T. Prescott, Eds. (Springer, 2016), vol. 9793.
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  15. [23]Fossette S., Gleiss A. C., Chalumeau J., Bastian T., Armstrong C. D., Vandenabeele S., Karpytchev M., Hays G. C., Current-oriented swimming by jellyfish and its role in bloom maintenance. Curr. Biol. 25, 342– 347 (2015). 25619761
  16. [24]Horridge G. A., The nerves and muscles of medusae. I. Conduction in the nervous system of Aurelia aurita Lamarck. J. Exp. Biol. 31, 594 (1954).
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  19. [27]Mackie G. O., Meech R. W., Central circuitry in the jellyfish Aglantha digitale II. The ring giant and carrier systems. J. Exp. Biol. 198, 2271– 2278 (1995). 9320190
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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Xu, N. W., & Dabiri, J. O.
Affiliations
Stanford University (US)
Corresponding author
Dabiri, John O.
ORCID
Venue
Science Advances
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Published
2020-01-31
Volume
6
Issue
5
Pages
eaaz3194-eaaz3194
ISSN
2375-2548 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1126/sciadv.aaz3194
PMC
PMC6989144
OpenAlex
W3003824536
Cited by
77
References
6
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 2
FWCI
2.99
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc
Locations
  • Science Advances (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • CaltechAUTHORS (California Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
Funders
National Science Foundation (GRFP 2015175583)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Soft Robotics and Applications
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Aerospace Engineering › Biomimetic flight and propulsion mechanisms
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Condensed Matter Physics › Micro and Nano Robotics
Keywords
biohybrid robots, jellyfish, swimming propulsion, low-power microelectronics, metabolic cost, soft robotics, actuation, oceanographic monitoring, bio-inspired locomotion
MeSH terms
Animals, Cnidaria, Equipment Design, Locomotion, Models, Biological, Robotics, Swimming, Elastomers

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