This amphibious robot crawls on land, courtesy of electrohydraulic flippers

New amphibious robot just dropped. A team at the Beijing Institute of Technology is showcasing a new system that achieves locomotion on both water and land, in a manner similar to mudskippers and lungfish. The multimodal amphibious robot relies on its front flippers to propel itself along the ground.

“The most impressive mode is the swimming motion. When the three flippers work simultaneously, the robot is able to generate symmetrical upward thrusts for vertical uplift,” the school notes in a paper that appears in the latest issue of Cyborg and Bionic Systems. “Through fluid simulation, the team found that the oscillation of the flippers creates vortex rings underneath the robot, and the shedding and interaction of these vortex rings further enhances the propulsion efficiency.”

The robot can also split the difference between these two modes by crawling underwater. Those flippers are powered by soft electrohydraulic actuators, which apply current via carbon electrodes to a pouch filled with silicone oil. The oil is squeezed, creating movement at the actuator expands.

Researchers tested the system in an extremely broad range of temperatures, from -20°C to 70°C (-5°F to 158°F). The electric and silicone-based system remained largely consistent across the spectrum, though the extremely cold temperatures resulted in a system slowdown – relatable.

Potential application for the amphibot include search and rescue, pipeline inspection, and environmental monitoring.