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This Singapore invention looks and swims like a manta ray – and it could be the future of autonomous underwater vehicles

The MantaDroid can accommodate a range of sensors and be used to study marine biodiversity and in search operations

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The NUS research team behind the MantaDroid was led by Asssociate Professsor Chew Chee Meng (second from right). Photo: National University of Singapore

By Sujin Thomas

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It looks like a baby manta ray flapping its wings as it glides through the water.

But it’s actually an aquatic robot which swims at a speed of twice its body length per second and can operate for up to 10 hours.

Meet the MantaDroid.

It’s the brainchild of a team from the National University of Singapore’s (NUS’) Department of Mechanical Engineering, which set out two years ago to develop a bio-inspired autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV).

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The MantaDroid measures 35cms in length, 63cms in width and weights 0.7kg, and was created after an in-depth study of fluid dynamics and experiments which included the testing of 40 different fin designs.

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