Boston Students meet “SeaJelly” at the BPS STEM Fair

Meeting SeaJelly

On Saturday, October 21, 2023, students in Boston Public Schools (BPS) had an opportunity to interact with a soft body, aquatic robot called SeaJelly. The annual BPS STEM Fair introduces kids from Boston communities to new, innovative technologies, a category where SeaJelly clearly qualifies.

The word ‘robot’ makes us think of intelligent devices that roll or walk, using jointed mechanical ‘arms’ to accomplish various tasks. SeaJelly is intelligent but it is constructed using flexible and deformable, not rigid, materials. Like a jellyfish, it uses flexible tenacles to swim and do its underwater work. While SeaJelly is a first-generation device, the future applications for soft body, aquatic robots range from marine pipeline repair to managing undersea farms.

Created using simple, low-cost components, SeaJelly represents a collaboration between Greensight, Inc., Florida Atlantic University (FAU), and The Sproul Company (TSC). “SeaJelly’s design uses biomimicry to create a free-swimming soft robot that is well-suited to operating in an underwater environment, “said Joel Pedlikin, COO of GreenSight. “The biomimicry also seems to have resulted in something people find very engaging.”

That may be an understatement – the kids at the STEM Fair loved SeaJelly. Takin Tadayon, an engineer with GreenSight, was one of the demonstrators at the Fair and got to see the kids’ excitement firsthand. “The students were great, with lots of awesome questions,” he said. “They really liked the way it actually looked like a sea animal and were just totally open to learn about SeaJelly.”

Josh Young, Takin Tadayon and a BPS student examining SeaJelly

SeaJelly is being developed as part of a project funded by the Office of Naval Research. The goal is to teach K-12 students the principles of biomimicry and soft robotics, ultimately providing kitted soft robots that students can build, modify, and improve upon. Judging by the STEM Fair reactions, the project is off to a good start.

“I want to thank GreenSight and BPS for making SeaJelly accessible to Boston students, “said James Sproul, founder of TSC. “It was a hands-on learning experience with an exciting technology still in its infancy. As STEM educators, our mission is to prepare kids for tomorrow’s opportunities; this was a good step in that direction. We look forward to partnering with the GreenSight team in curriculum development, classroom enrichment, and BPS STEM competitions.”