Nature can provide the best examples of designs that can be used in new technologies, and the U.S. Navy is betting on a robot that was designed to mimic the biological traits of a fish to patrol the country's ships and ports as well as infiltrate enemy territory in the near future.
On Dec. 11, the U.S. Navy tested its GhostSwimmer unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek. The robot, which was designed to swim and even look like a blue fin tuna measures about five feet long and weighs around 100 pounds. It was developed by the Silent Nemo project, which explores the potential uses for biomimetic UUVs.
Most conventional underwater vehicles are driven by propellers and shaped like torpedoes but since GhostSwimmer mimicked the appearance and motions of a real fish, it moves quietly giving it the capability to sneak into enemy's territory more easily without being detected.
"This is an attempt to take thousands of years of evolution - what has [been] perfected since the dawn of time - and try to incorporate that into a mechanical device," said Marine captain Jerry Lademan adding that the idea is to reverse engineer what nature has already accomplished.
Just like a real fish, GhostSwimmer uses its tail to propel. It is also capable of operating at a range of water depths from as shallow as 10 inches to as deep as 300 feet. It also comes with dorsal and pectoral fins and with it moving and looking like a fish, Ghostswimmer is stealthy and difficult to spot.
"It swims just like a fish does by oscillating its tail fin back and forth," said Boston Engineering's Advanced Systems Group director Michael Rufo. "The unit is a combination of unmanned systems engineering and unique propulsion and control capabilities."
GhostSwimmer can be remotely controlled or programmed to swim on its own. Besides potentials for patrolling harbors and swimming into hostile territories, the robot can also be used to inspect the hulls of ship for damage or search for sea mines and other tasks that pose potential risks to humans.
The robotic fish that was tested by the engineers and members of the military last week was just a prototype but the Navy said that this robotic spy could be operational as early as next year. See how the GhostSwimmer moves and swims in this video:
