Underwater Navigation Modeled on Fish
The tuna’s fast, nimble body is a perfect model for underwater propulsion. The Boston Engineering Corporation is developing a prototype BIOSwimmer robot that sports a fish-shaped form, tail, and fins.
Funding is courtesy of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate, which hopes to deploy the BIOswimmer on underwater patrols. It would be ideal for cramped, polluted, or dangerous environments that humans couldn’t reach, according to its designers. By emulating fish, the device might be free of the propulsion and maneuverability difficulties that conventional unmanned underwater vehicles commonly exhibit.
Source: Science and Technology Directorate, Department of Homeland Security, www.dhs.gov /directorate-science-and-technology.
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