Animals - Base Unit 1: Mobula
We're aiming to make underwater vehicles that use flapping propulsion. Animals are our inspiration. Turtles, sharks, penguins, and rays have all been developed over millions of years for efficiency, stealth and resilience. We have designed a number of base systems to test how efficient flapping propulsion is likely to be using modern materials. We explore the design parameters to discover the most efficient, powerful and practical solutions. The first base unit is a Mobula ray design. It is one of our design principles to base the designs on appropriately sized animals; size is especially important for hydrodynamic performance. The CAD drawings show the Mobula with a wingspan of about 1.5 m, followed by an image from the first pool test of the prototype. A potential use case for this type of vehicle would be coral reef surveying. Quiet, efficient, and low environmental impact.