One of the problems with deep-sea remotely controlled submersibles is the enormous pressure.
In this work, the researchers took a new approach to this problem: they simulated soft fish in their robot.
Previous studies have shown that it is possiblemake a soft robot, for example, from silicone or other polymers. In their work, scientists created a robot made of soft polymers in the shape of a flying fish. The wings flap thanks to the “muscles” in the silicone body, and the current causes them to contract. Reducing the current allows the wing to relax to its natural state.
The authors of the work decided to test the robot first inlaboratories, then on the lake, and then in the South China Sea. Testing was successful at all three locations. The team then hooked up the robot to a traditional underwater vehicle and sent it into a trench in the Mariana Trench at a depth of 10 km, where it worked just as well.