Scientists at Caltech were inspired by jellyfish’s energy-saving locomotion strategies to devise new ocean vessel propulsion systems and heart disease diagnostics.through water, and their locomotion led them to discover connections with the flow dynamics of blood in the human heart. This could help the development of diagnostic systems via enhanced detection and improved understanding of heart disease.
Jellyfish housed in a 3,600-gallon tank also contained two motors to control water flow that stimulated ocean conditions, mainly the upwelling and downwelling flow.by Caltech, a filter system and temperature controls keep the animals healthy while turning vanes on the tank bottom maintain a uniform flow of water.
These were designed by graduate student Simon Anuszczyk. The structures streamline the jellyfish and allow attachment of sensors. Dabiri and Anuszczyk demonstrated that augmented jellyfish could swim up to 4.5 times faster than those without enhancements, even while carrying additional equipment.