MAJOR
Robotics Technology
Major
Overview
A robotic tuna? Dr. Jamie Anderson at MIT designed a "vorticity control unmanned undersea vehicle," or VCUUV -- and it looks like a yellowfin tuna, right down to the yellow fin. It even moves its tail side to side as it swims. Why? Dr. Anderson and others discovered that this flexible movement enables the robot to make sharper, quicker turns than robots with rigid shapes.
Unlike a tuna, though, the VCUUV is stuffed with equipment, including a computer and sensing instruments. Its uses include undersea surveillance (spying) and search-and-rescue missions.
