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Could studying penguins lead to more efficient boats

The Penguin Boat. Could studying penguins lead to more efficient boats . Proteus . Engineers at MIT studied penguins and built a boat which propels itself with “flippers” They named the boat Proteus Proteus has two flippers operated by four motors

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Could studying penguins lead to more efficient boats

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  1. The Penguin Boat Could studying penguins lead to more efficient boats

  2. Proteus • Engineers at MIT studied penguins and built a boat which propels itself with “flippers” • They named the boat Proteus • Proteus has two flippers operated by four motors • The two larger motors move the flippers toward and away from each other. • the two smaller motors allow the flippers to twist slightly as they paddle.

  3. Proteus vs. Robotuna • Previous to Proteus engineers built Robotuna in order to mimic the blue-fin tuna. • In order to swim efficiently it would have to twist and turn its entire body. • This makes it an impractical model for future boats. • Proteus however keeps its body rigid while it swims with its flippers.

  4. The maiden voyage • The maiden voyage of Proteus was a success • The boat showed that it could propel itself on open water. • Proteus operated at about 87% efficiency, most propeller boats operate at about 70%.

  5. Future Work • Now that Proteus has shown that flipper boats are more efficient the technology must be applied to larger boats. • If only 3% of the US fleet used boats that operated with 10% more efficiency we would save $15 million per yer and 30 million gallons of gasoline. • Switching to this technology would greatly help the economy and the environment

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