Important Innovations

Tunabot - Fast as Tuna, Next G Underwater Vehicle Propulsion Source:  University of Virginia Prototype for Next G Underwater Vehicle Propulsion The tuna is one of the fastest fish in the sea.  A mechanical engineering team from University of Virginia in collaboration with biologists from Harvard University have invented a robofish that can swim as fast as a yellowfin tuna.  The team says it's not about the robot.  It's about inventing a new, faster and more efficient underwater propulsion system for manned and unmanned underwater vehicles. Physics of Fish Propulsion At Harvard and UVA, Tunabot is tethered in a large flow tank with a green laser to measure fluid motion as it swims.  Yellowfin tuna grow to 7 feet.  The Tunabot is 10 inches long.  The purpose of this research is to better understand the physics of fish propulsion to develop the next generation of underwater vehicles with fish like propulsion system.  The team says the ult...

Novel, Tiny Robot Has Big Applications for Drones DelFly Robot - Image Courtesy of Delft University New Robot Mimics Insect Flight Researchers at Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands have developed a novel flying robot that mimics the flight control and dynamics of insects.  Its flying wings beat 17 times per second.  And it generates enough force to stay airborne and controls the flight by slight changes in wing motion. DelFly Nimble The engineers have named it DelFly Nimble. The tiny robot is autonomous.  It can hover on the spot,  do 360० flips and fly any direction with agility like an insect.  Right now it has top speeds of 15.5 mph and excellent power efficiency with a flight range of 1 km on a fully charged battery. Important Applications DelFly Nimble has exceptional flight qualities which open up new drone applications.  Scientists say it's also exceptionally well suited to advance biological and engineering research i...