Why is that so exciting? Have you ever seen an eel swim? It is truly amazing (see this video) anyway the lads designed, studied and built a prototype measuring about 2 metres in length. That is a giant robot.
How did they do it? Well I’ll let them explain:
“Each vertebra includes 3 degrees of freedom, bending around two planes (yaw / pitch) and twisting around its column. The prototype includes 12 vertebrae (36 dof), a rigid head and a passive and flexible tail. The head is equipped with side wings mimicking the pectoral fins dedicated to control animal roll and pitch.”
Wicked.
They also use a “spherical wrist”, developed by Clement Gosselin, technology “used to guide a camera in space” and “consists in three rotary motors, of which axes intersect at the centre of the wrist and three “legs” consisting of two revolute joints each, which also cut the main center of the wrist.”
“The skin is made with three types of materials, plastic rings for reinforcements, chains of rubber to ensure continuity in curvature, and a latex skin to seal and lift between the fluid and the eel-like robot.
The skin of the eel is attached to each vertebra.”
Is it safe to go back in the water? Hells yes.
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