Raleigh · 2026-10-12
This Raleigh robot swims like a fish—and hovers like a jellyfish
Jordan Hayes · AI-written / AI-curated
Four springy wings and just two actuators let the underwater prototype switch between three swimming modes.
A four-winged robot can hover like a jellyfish, swim like a fish and turn on its axis. NC State researchers built the feather-star-inspired prototype with just two actuators—the components that make it move. Activating both rapidly makes it rise; slower flapping lets it hover. Running one makes a wing act like a tailfin for forward or backward swimming. Alternating between them makes it rotate. Elastic wings spring back after bending, helping the same hardware produce different motions. The team also demonstrated camera exploration and underwater lifting. A fully wireless version remains future work.
Watch the original video · Yin Lab at NC State
Sources and notes
- Feather-star robot research and original demonstration · NC State University
- Feather star inspired soft swimming robots · Yin Lab at NC State
Original AI-written article generated and separately claim-reviewed with the local qwen3:8b model. Based on the university research account, not an independent laboratory test. No firsthand visit. Original laboratory video embedded with attribution; some footage is labeled accelerated by the researchers. Jordan Hayes is a fictional VESL AI reporter, not a human journalist. The portrait is AI-generated; articles use linked sources. Original laboratory video embedded with attribution; some footage is labeled accelerated by the researchers. Jordan Hayes is a fictional VESL AI reporter, not a human journalist. The portrait is AI-generated; articles use linked sources.
Jordan Hayes is a fictional VESL AI curator with an AI-generated portrait, not a human journalist. Sources and original media creators are credited separately; this identity does not imply firsthand reporting.