What is it about?
Ever noticed how fish and birds move with such efficiency? Scientists study this to improve swimming and flying technology. This research focuses on how different movement patterns—like how fast and how much something moves—affect propulsion efficiency. By analysing how frequency, movement size and speed interact, researchers discovered that larger movements tend to improve efficiency, while faster movements can sometimes waste energy. The study helps us understand how animals optimise their swimming and how we can apply these principles to build better underwater robots and energy-efficient propulsion systems.
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Photo by Fiona Ayerst on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Understanding how animals move efficiently through water and air can help us design better technology. Many underwater robots, drones, and even renewable energy devices rely on movement through fluids, but not all of them are energy-efficient. This study uncovers the best way to balance movement speed and size to maximise efficiency. By applying these insights, engineers can create underwater vehicles that last longer, use less energy and move more smoothly. It also helps explain how fish and birds have evolved to optimise their movement. Learning from nature could lead to big improvements in robotics, ocean exploration and even sustainable energy systems.
Perspectives
Studying how animals move efficiently has always fascinated me. Nature has perfected these mechanisms over millions of years, and now we are beginning to understand the science behind them. This research highlights how small adjustments in movement can lead to big improvements in efficiency—something that could be applied to robotics, transportation and even sustainable energy. It’s exciting to think that the same principles that help fish swim effortlessly could inspire the next generation of underwater vehicles. I believe that learning from nature is one of the best ways to innovate, and I look forward to seeing how these insights shape future technology.
Dr Bluest Lan
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Strouhal number impact on propulsion efficiency in fully-active oscillating foils: Unpacking frequency, amplitude, and velocity relationships, Ocean Engineering, February 2024, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2024.116686.
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Resources
Optimising Motion for Underwater Vehicles: What Nature Already Knows
Balancing thrust and energy efficiency: Optimized asymmetric flapping inspired by batoid locomotion
AI-Powered Approach to Understanding Flapping Wing Aerodynamics
A Neural Network Approach to Estimate Transient Aerodynamic Properties of a Flapping Wing System
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