Picture 1  Robtic fishes bear Peking University's school emblem and celebration banner

As a song which has always been spread in Peking University, “Weiming Lake is an ocean. The poets are hiding in the sea. If the souls are fish, they will leap from the water...”. On May 4th, for celebrating the 120th anniversary of Peking University, a group of students from the Intelligent Bionic Design Lab (IBDL) of Peking University took a smart fish robot to swim in Weiming Lake of Peking University. In this way, they presented a unique feeling of blessing to the 120th anniversary of Peking University.

The intelligent biomimetic design laboratory of Peking University learns from nature. Through the exploration of individual mechanism of natural organisms, the intelligent biomimetic system is designed, tested and developed. The researches not only include investigating how to imitate the movement, perception, positioning, and communication of organisms, but also include investigating group collaboration and imitating the behavior of intelligent clusters of self-organizing. The laboratory has inherited and promoted the innovative spirit of Peking University and actively responded to the call of the country. It combined robotics and artificial intelligence technologies to serve the needs of the development of a new generation of AI development planning and the integration of military and civilian national strategy.

“Let engineering go all over the world” has pointed out the goal for students in college of engineering of Peking University. “Holding the sky and Standing on the ground” is the motto imprinted in the heart of teachers and students in the intelligent biomimetic design lab. "Holding the sky" shows that the laboratory not only strives to make original innovations in the academic field, but also leads the frontier. "Standing on the ground" contains research results that can be effectively integrated into the actual application and serve the development of the country's economic society.

Specifically, five intelligent bionic robotic fishes use artificial intelligence technology to realize the autonomous collaborative formation based on several sensor information in Weiming Lake. They bear Peking University's school emblem and celebration banner, conveying the wish to the 120th anniversary of Peking University.

As the saying goes, "One minute on stage, ten years off the stage", the intelligent biomimetic robot fish has undergone more than ten years of iterative design. As early as September 2005 in Shenyang, at the “High-tech Fair in Northeast Asia”, the robotic fish received concern from the vice president of Peking University, Prof. Lin Junjing, Premier Li Keqiang (who was the Provincial Party Secretary of Liaoning at the time), and Minister Chen Zhili (who served as the state affairs at the time). After continuous improvement, the performance of robotic fish has been qualitatively improved.

　　Picture 2 Numerous leaders inspect the robotic fish of the lab

With the strong support of national policies and schools, the teachers and students of the laboratory have made unremitting efforts for many years to overcome one difficulty and gradually made significant progresss. The research results of the laboratory occupy an important place in the world and lead a new research direction.

The laboratory also demonstrated the interactive performance of the intelligent bionic robotic fish and the animal in the Weiming Lake. The bionic robotic fish led the fish in the water and play with harmony. It conveyed a concept of harmony between science and technology and nature. The performance also attracted a large number of alumni, especially the “Chinese Koi”, which surprised everyone with its bionic appearance. Its excellent swimming performance also made everyone praise. When Mr. Yu Minhong, an outstanding alumnus of Peking University, learned that the laboratory's research level was in a leading position in the international community, he affirmed the results of the laboratory's academic research. He also said that the teachers and students have always maintained the spirit of “Fight for the first”.

Picture 3 The "Chinese Koi" attracted a large number of alumni to watch

Picture 4 Minhong Yu and the robotic fish

Picture 5 Top left: Smart biomimetic robotic shark; Bottom left: Intelligent biomimetic boxfish-like robot; Top right: Underwater hybrid robotic fish; Right second, right third: Staff who were debugging the robotic fish

"Weiming" also means "Leave blank". It will continue to witness the growth of Peking University. Just like the concept of the laboratory, the students of the Peking University will eventually meet one challenge after another for the development of the country. Everything is not over, everything is just beginning. At the end of the show, Professor Guangming Xie and some members of the Intelligent Bionic Design Laboratory wished Peking University a happy birthday for its 120th birthday!

Picture 6 Blessings from teachers and students of the laboratory

COE News, PKU：http://www.coe.pku.edu.cn/news-topic/5390