A system chasing a fish automatically for salmon migration research

We develop a system which automatically follows a supersonic generator swallowed by a salmonid fish, in order to reveal the mechanism whereby a salmonid fish can come back to the river where it hatched out. Previously, we have observed the migratory behavior of the salmon by chasing it with a boat controlled by human beings. It takes a very heavy load and the length of period of chasing is limited, since three persons at least on a boat have to continuously work to hear the frequency-translated supersonic sound, control the boat and record, respectively. Therefore, we are developing a robot boat which chases the supersonic generator swallowed by a salmon. The robot boat facilitates the investigation of the behavior of the salmon.