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A new eel-inspired swimming robot made of soft electroactive polymer can minimize harm to wildlife and fragile structures while exploring underwater environments

07.09.25 | PLOS

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An eel-like robot based on a dielectric elastomer
Eel imitation robot. Credit: Chenghong Zhang, 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

A new eel-inspired swimming robot made of soft electroactive polymer can minimize harm to wildlife and fragile structures while exploring underwater environments

Article URL : http://plos.io/4enskqV

Article title: An eel-like robot based on a dielectric elastomer

Author countries: China

Funding: This work was supported by the Joint Open Fund of Guizhou Provincial Department of Education (Grant no. [2022] 439) and the academic new seedling cultivation and free exploration and innovation of Guizhou Provincial Science and Technology Department (Grant no. [2023] 11). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

PLOS One

10.1371/journal.pone.0324738

An eel-like robot based on a dielectric elastomer

9-Jul-2025

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Additional Media

An eel-like robot based on a dielectric elastomer
Measuring point of robot displacement. Credit: Chenghong Zhang, 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
An eel-like robot based on a dielectric elastomer
An underwater robot developed by NTNU. This study first establishes a cylindrical dynamic model of dielectric elastomers to deeply analyze the deformation behavior of DEs under the action of electric fields and radial forces. Subsequently, taking the eel as the bionic object, tubular actuators and tubular segment drive modules for improving manufacturability are designed. These modules are connected in series and the head component, tail component and tail fin are installed, eventually creating Credit: Chenghong Zhang, 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Keywords

Applied Sciences and Engineering Engineering Robotics Robots Technology

Article Information

Journal
PLOS One
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0324738
Article Publication Date
2025-07-09
Article Title
An eel-like robot based on a dielectric elastomer
COI Statement
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Contact Information

Hanna Abdallah
PLOS
onepress@plos.org

How to Cite This Article

APA:
PLOS. (2025, July 9). A new eel-inspired swimming robot made of soft electroactive polymer can minimize harm to wildlife and fragile structures while exploring underwater environments. Brightsurf News. https://www.brightsurf.com/news/LQ4VJRK8/a-new-eel-inspired-swimming-robot-made-of-soft-electroactive-polymer-can-minimize-harm-to-wildlife-and-fragile-structures-while-exploring-underwater-environments.html
MLA:
"A new eel-inspired swimming robot made of soft electroactive polymer can minimize harm to wildlife and fragile structures while exploring underwater environments." Brightsurf News, Jul. 9 2025, https://www.brightsurf.com/news/LQ4VJRK8/a-new-eel-inspired-swimming-robot-made-of-soft-electroactive-polymer-can-minimize-harm-to-wildlife-and-fragile-structures-while-exploring-underwater-environments.html.