What is a biomimetic underwater robot, and what advantages does it offer over traditional underwater robots?

Let's put it this way: bionic underwater robots are essentially machines created by engineers who "learned from" marine life.

Think about it: creatures like fish, sea turtles, and dolphins have lived in water for hundreds of millions of years. How they swim fast and effortlessly, and how they maneuver flexibly in complex underwater environments, have long been perfectly "designed" by nature. So, instead of simply building a square box with a few propellers, we imitate these creatures.

For example, a robot designed to look and move like a tuna, propelling itself by oscillating its tail; or a robot resembling a manta ray, "flying" through the water by flapping its two large pectoral fins. These are all considered bionic underwater robots.

So, what makes them better than traditional (propeller-driven) underwater robots? The advantages are quite clear:

1. Super Energy-Efficient, Longer Endurance: Traditional robots rely on propellers for brute-force propulsion, much like using an electric fan underwater, which wastes a lot of energy. Bionic robots, however, mimic fish swimming, using finesse and achieving much higher energy efficiency. With the same amount of power, they can travel further and operate for longer.

2. Extremely Quiet, Excellent at "Camouflage": Propellers generate significant noise when rotating, scaring away underwater fish schools. Bionic robots, moving by tail oscillation or fin flapping, are much quieter. This is incredibly important for scientists who need to quietly observe marine life, or for military applications requiring covert operations. They can even blend into fish schools undetected.

3. Agile and Flexible Movement: Traditional robots are often bulky and inconvenient for turning or reversing. Bionic robots, however, can execute quick, tight turns like real fish, and even perform emergency stops and reverse movements, easily navigating into narrow and complex spaces like coral reefs or inside shipwrecks for exploration.

4. More Environmentally Friendly: High-speed rotating propellers can easily stir up seabed sediment, clouding the water, and potentially entangle aquatic plants or harm small animals. Bionic robots, with their much gentler movements, cause very minimal disturbance to the surrounding environment, acting more like "gentle visitors."

In a nutshell, bionic underwater robots learn from nature, the ultimate designer, applying the "wisdom" that creatures have evolved over hundreds of millions of years to robots, enabling them to perform exceptionally well underwater.