Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The aquatic robot twists in a split second.

Water ripples around its sleek body, and a splash announces its escape. At Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a robotic fish buckles its silicone rubber frame into an impressive—and utterly realistic—evasive maneuver.

"Evolution has tried all kinds of experiments, and the organisms that move best don't get eaten," says George M. Whitesides, a chemist and professor at Harvard University who was not involved in the study. "This system mimics fish, highly evolved organisms, with remarkably fish-like movements."

Researchers at MIT have unveiled an autonomous, self-contained, robotic fish capable of high-performance underwater maneuvers. And this isn't just a cool toy: It's also a victory for the young field of soft robotics: The specs for this rubber robot were published in the premier edition of Soft Robotics, an open-access journal. Scientists hope that the mechanical fish will pave the way for a new generation of softer, more dexterous robots.

"It's a very elegant hybrid, which combines the best features of hard electronics with the best features of soft, tissue-like performance," Whitesides says.

Although science fiction revels in bulky Transformers and even less cuddly Cylons, the future of robotics is likely to involve a softer touch, says Andrew Marphese, a doctoral candidate at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT and coauthor of the study. "Soft robots could be the future of manufacturing," he says.

In an industrial setting, for example, hulking robot arms are typically cordoned away from human workers to prevent injuries. But soft, rubbery robots are inherently safer to be around. "We're starting to talk about bringing robots into our everyday lives, so safety is a primary concern," Marphese says.

Bendable robots also offer a malleable way to squeeze high-tech machinery into tight spaces. "For pipe inspection, which involves complicated turns and twists, a soft robot could really leverage its body compliance," he adds.

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Designing a light, soft robot that is both self-contained and high-performance remains a challenge. Onboard computers are heavy, so engineers are often forced to strike a less-than-ideal balance between dexterity and autonomy: They can weigh down their robots with sophisticated hardware, tether their experiments to external computers and lose autonomy, or settle for lighter, inferior onboard tech.

Soft robotic fish provide one biomimetic solution. In nature, fish store their heavy machinery—a skull and a brain—in their heads, while the rest of their bodies are light and bendable. Borrowing from nature's model aquatic organisms, Marphese copied fish musculature to design a smart, but still soft, mechanical fish.

"We wanted all of the advantages of a soft robot, but we also wanted to make it high-performance and entirely self-contained," he says. "To the best of my knowledge, no other robot exists that meets all of those criteria simultaneously."

Although the robo-fish was initially built as a proof of concept, Marphese intends to improve upon his prototype, add instruments, and ultimately dispatch the soft robot on biological missions. "We'd like to send it out to shallow water, like a coral reef, and have it interact with real fish to collect data," he says.

Dexterous robo-fish, however, may be but the humble beginnings of a field that will one day redefine how humans interact with robots.

"If you want to cut through a metal bar or hold a welding torch, hard robots do it best," Whitesides says. "But soft robots work where soft contact is important, which means people. For surgical assistance, rehabilitation, and working with the elderly, robots are better with a soft touch."

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