“As underwater operation tasks become more complex and often require multiple underwater vehicles to carry out group operations, it is necessary to take inspiration from the group swimming of organisms to guide formations of underwater vehicles,” said author Pengcheng Gao.
“Both the shape of manta rays and their propulsive performance are of great value for biomimicry.”
Uncovering hydrodynamic secrets
Scientists from Northwestern Polytechnical University and its Ningbo Institute in China have turned to manta rays for inspiration in improving the performance of underwater vehicles, exploring how different group formations of manta rays impact swimming efficiency—knowledge they believe could inform the next generation of coordinated aquatic robotics.