Ph.D. student Sung Hyuk Song and Dr Hyung Jung Kim under the guidance of Professor Sung Hoon Ahn from the Innovative Design and Integrated Manufacturing Lab had their research titled “A turtle-like swimming robot using a smart soft composite (SSC) structure” - presented in January 2013 - selected as one of the Highlight of 2013 in the Smart Materials and Structures journal.<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

The above research details the development of a driver capable of bending and twisting without the use of motors and through the use of shape memory alloys and SSCs made with 3D printers. Using these technologies, the team developed a robot which mimicked the movement of a sea turtle.