Development of Oil-skimming Robot Swimming Underwater

SNU research team inspired by falling leaves
Adhesive oil-skimming sheet swimming in water

Solving environmental problems like oil leaks

Diagram of a swimming leaf robot inspired by the movement of falling leaves. Provided by SNU

A Korean research team has developed a thin soft robot that moves underwater via fluttering motions.


On April 21, SNU Mechaical Engineering Professor Kyu-Jin Cho’s team announced that “modeling the movements of a thin object underwater has opened up the possibility of a new system of underwater soft robots.” The research was published in Science Robotics April 22 (Korean time).



The team was inspired by falling leaves fluttering from side to side in the air to design the soft robot. Extremely light, thin objects such as a leaf or a sheet of paper can move in various ways because of air resistance.





 

The team discovered that this movement is greatly affected by the density distribution of the object, and that this effect is amplified underwater. Moreover, they successfully designed a way to adjust the density of the overall system by creating a thin sheet out of soft composite material. By controlling the density, the object can move underwater, like the way a leaf moves, to reach a destination without additional propellers or drastic maneuvers.

Movements of the leaf robot underwater. Provided by SNU

The research team explained that “this technology can be applied to small objects at the size of millimeters as well as largeres with a surface area of multiple square meters, which is useful in underwater exploration and environmental remediation.” They demonstrated that the oil-skimming adhesive sheet is able to swim by itself, reaching the destination where oil is spilled, and remove the spill.


“When additional technologies for complex underwater maneuvering of objects with batteries or circuits are developed in the future, we would be able to open up new possibilities of underwater soft robots.” said Prof. Cho.

Original article:
http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/science/technology/992071.html#csidxc937de21c0caf9caaa2e6eb9f81222d