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Seafaring Security Cyborgs
The BIOSwimmer is an Autonomous Techno Tuna that Detects Bombs

By: Wes Walcott (Talented) Sep 24, 12

Inspired by the swift swimming motion of the tuna, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security created the BIOSwimmer—a lookalike fish robot designed for underwater patrols.

When considering fish to model an aquatic security drone after, the first thing that comes to the minds of most people is probably something intimidating like a shark or stingray. But, as it turns out, the Bluefish Tuna is an exceptionally efficient swimmer, making it an ideal model for submarines.

Built by Boston engineers, the BIOSwimmer is an unmanned submersible vessel that was created to inspect equipment and assets located in inhospitable environments. For example, it might be called on to inspect harbours and ports for bombs and explosives, or investigate polluted waters near an offshore oil rig to see if pumps are working properly.

Biologically inspired robotics or biomimetics is a fairly new science that has yielded promising results in recent years. A number of useful designs have already been produced that are based on the movements of animals like dogs, lobsters and geckos.

Source: gizmag