back to article This surf-and-turf robot swims using ribbon-like fins. And it's floated for US Navy approval

In Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Paul Revere's Ride," light from lanterns served to signal how British troops would arrive at the start of the American Revolutionary War: One if by land, two if by sea. In wars to come, US naval robots will traverse both. At the 2017 Naval Future Force Science and Technology Expo in …

  1. Swarthy
    Go

    "It's similar to the propulsion in some aquatic animals like rays and squid."
    It also resembles a snake in the way it wriggles across grass, snow, and ice.
    To me it looks more like a robotic cuttlefish.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      It looks a lot like a robotic anomalocaris.

      1. Simon Harris
  2. The Man Who Fell To Earth Silver badge
    Black Helicopters

    I for one, welcome our new undulating overlords.

    I’d like to remind them that as a trusted personality, I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their undulation caves.

    1. Inventor of the Marmite Laser Silver badge

      Re: I for one, welcome our new undulating overlords.

      <waves>

  3. Neil Barnes Silver badge

    They remind me of...

    Spanish Dancer flatworms... though perhaps not yet as pretty.

    http://www.deepseanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/sapnish-dancer.jpg

    1. TonyJ

      Re: They remind me of...

      "...Spanish Dancer flatworms..."

      Are truly stunning little beasties.

      I've only ever seen two of them, both in the Red Sea and both at night.

      1. OrientalHero

        Re: They remind me of...

        Snap!

        I've seen one in in the Red Sea too! Only in the day time.

        Our dive master pointed out two little shrimps wandering over it.

        Hmmm, should they ape nature to that extent by having generic maintenance bots wandering over it?

  4. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Boffin

    Actually the first attempt at artifical muscle

    was developed in the mid 60''s for use in prosthetics.

    The design was literally a nylon stocking with a balloon inside it driven by air pressure (< 3 atm, which is low for pneumatic systems).

    It was later used by Shadow Robotics to develop huamn scale (in size, weight and strength) robots.

    I'm not sure how non linear it was.

  5. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    I wonder how it compares...

    ...with this.

    1. The Man Who Fell To Earth Silver badge
      Alert

      Re: I wonder how it compares...

      That's just a modern version of the 1929 Fordson Snowmobile.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo31_3UzTTY

      1. John Savard

        Re: I wonder how it compares...

        I was wondering if instead of using fancy technology to achieve undulating fins, simply rotating Archimedian screws couldn't achieve the same thing more simply. So it's been done.

  6. lglethal Silver badge
    Joke

    James Bond's future nemesis?

    So when does it get its obligatory head mounted laser beam?

    1. macjules

      Re: James Bond's future nemesis?

      Single-use Cuttlefish-mounted SLBMs anyone?

  7. Mystic Megabyte
    WTF?

    Well D'oh

    "It's amazingly agile because you can operate the fins on the two different sides."

    I have a robot that only goes around in circles!

  8. Steve Aubrey

    Cutting edge

    I like how in the illustration the sea grass comes up through the body work. That's real stealthy!

    On second thought, don't use this for an underwater lawn mower, because apparently there is no cutting edge.

    1. DNTP

      Re: Cutting edge

      Hey, if the server lets you /noclip than it'll probably also permit /notarget- the ultimate stealth, just watch the AI run around as if you're not there.

    2. thwogmog

      Re: Cutting edge

      Heh heh, I noticed that too. I guess as a startup they don't have big bucks for professional renderings.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "It's amazingly agile because you can operate the fins on the two different sides."

    Presumably it is also very stable. Even if it lands on its back - it should just swap left and right controls and carry on.

  10. thwogmog

    Awesome. People have been trying to get fish-like robots to swim properly for 20 years.

  11. TheElder

    Ringing a bell

    This very much was ringing a little bell in my mind. It is really just a few of these in a line.

    Mechanical Stingray with LEGO

  12. imanidiot Silver badge

    Mêhh...

    I won't be impressed until they are armed with lasersdeathrays

  13. juice

    Eeling along...

    The main thing this reminds me of is the wonderfully named Black Ghost Knife Fish - a member of the electric eel family and quite spectacular to watch. Essentially, it has a single "fin" running underneath it, which it oscillates in much the same way as I'm guessing that robot will.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gimQjPkvsNIv

    It also means that unlike other fish, they're able to move backwards very easily, by reversing the oscillation...

  14. trsanford

    Possible Precursor

    I recall seeing an illustration of a boat constructed by the Tissandier brothers in the late 19th century that was designed to test a propulsion system inspired by the way fish swim. The thing had a central longitudinal well, above which was mounted a fore-and-aft horizontal rod. On this rod were pivoted a series of vertical shafts attached to a long strip of stout fabric. Shafts and fabric extended through the well into the water. The drive train caused each shaft to swing back and forth in sequence, causing the fabric to undulate rhythmically and drive the vessel forward. It is said to have worked well, though it has obvious disadvantages for many of the purposes for which you'd want a boat.

    I ran into this in an ancient bound volume of Scientific American, a long time ago. I'm surprised that it has not made its way into Wikipedia, which recognizes Gaston and Albert Tissandier primarily for their contributions to aerostatics.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Interesting idea but...

    ...I'd be concerned about the number of moving parts in the final drive mechanism.

    With a standard propeller system the final drive mechanism consists of the rotating drive gear/prop-shaft/propeller assembly, which operates as a single unit. With this system though, it looks like there are eight independent reciprocating drive servos, and their associated hinged actuators, per side. In addition, every time the drive actuators cycle, the flexible membranes or 'fins' are put through a corresponding stress/de-stress cycle.

    The comparatively large number of moving parts in the final drive does not bode well for reliability and the reciprocating/hinged movement modes are not good from a wear point of view. Dunno how well the flexible membrane will stand up to fatigue.

    1. The First Dave

      Re: Interesting idea but...

      I take it you didn't read the bit about artificial muscle?

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like