Consider the fish: highly maneuverable and an effortless swimmer,
this animal 160 million years in the making is superbly adapted to its
watery environs. Now, in work that could lead to mini submarines with
similar attributes, MIT engineers have developed the first robotic
version of Nature's piscine wonder. This summer the researchers'
creation, patterned after a bluefin tuna, took its maiden swim down
the MIT Testing Tank. That swim and others since have been flawless,
reinforcing the engineers' belief that the Lycra-sheathed robot could
become an important tool toward understanding the physics of swimming
and more. The "robotuna" project began about three years ago with the
overall goal of developing a better propulsion system for autonomous
underwater vehicles, or AUVs, said Michael S. Triantafyllou, a
professor in the Department of Ocean Engineering who is leading the
research team. The work is funded by the Advanced Research Projects
Agency, the Office of Naval Research, the MIT Sea Grant College
Program, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and MIT's
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program.
MIT News
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