Researchers at the University of Southampton have built a robotic wing that changes shape underwater to stay stable. The soft wing senses water currents and adapts automatically, just like birds and fish do. In tests, it reduced sudden jolts from underwater turbulence by 87 percent compared to rigid wings used today.
A team of engineers led by the University of Southampton developed the new wing. They worked with researchers from the University of Edinburgh and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Current underwater drones, called autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), have rigid bodies and wings. When hit by sudden waves or currents, they struggle to stay stable and use large amounts of energy to correct themselves.
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The team looked at how birds and fish naturally adapt to moving water and air. Birds sense airflow through their feathers, while fish use their lateral line system and fin rays to feel changes. This ability is called proprioception — the body’s internal sense of position and movement.
To copy this, the researchers built an electronic skin with liquid metal wires inside soft silicone. These wires act like nerves, sending signals as the wing bends. Inside the wing, two tubes use hydraulic pressure to change the wing’s stiffness and curve automatically.
Leo Micklem, lead author on the paper who carried out the work at the University of Southampton and is now at Portland State University, explained the thinking: “Instead of building ‘tougher’ robots designed to fight the ocean’s power, we are moving toward smarter, softer machines that work in synergy with the environment.”
The wing responded up to four times faster than similar soft wings and used five times less energy than systems that rely on heat to change shape. The results were published in the journal npj Robotics.
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The team noted that scaling up the technology and attaching it to rigid drone parts remain challenges. They also need to ensure it survives real-world ocean conditions.
Professor Blair Thornton, a co-author from the University of Southampton, said ocean environments are unpredictable, so robots must sense and respond constantly. He added that this brings soft robots closer to working reliably in natural underwater settings.
