Engineers have created a mechanism that teaches robots to move like fish

Over the past few decades, engineers have developed many robots inspired by both humans and

animals. However, in order to effectively imitate living organisms, mechanisms  must not only resemble them; they should also move in a similar manner.

French researchers have presented a newa bio-inspired mechanism that helps robots swim like fish. It is based on proprioception - the ability of animals to collect information about the position, movement and acceleration of their body. The results of the study were published in a journal inPhysical Review Letters.

Simple robotic setup for researchers.The white material is 3D printed using deformable polymers. The servo motor (blue) drives two cables that deform the robot. The dark part is 3D printed from hard material. Credit: Sanchez-Rodriguez et al.

The main advantage of proprioceptiveThe mechanism presented by scientists is that it allows robotic swimmers to adapt their movement to their environment, just like fish do. In fact, most fish have lateral natural "sensors" that sense fluid pressure on their body, allowing them to integrate proprioceptive senses.

The researchers tested their proprioceptive mechanism on a real biomimetic robot. Using it, the robot floated in the water like a fish.

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