The ability to capture prey and avoid predation in aquatic habitats depends strongly on the ability to perform unsteady maneuvers (e.g. turns), which itself depends strongly on body flexibility. Two previous studies of turning performance in rigid-bodied taxa have found either high maneuverability or high agility, but not both. However, examinations of aquatic turning performance in rigid-bodie...

The compound helicopter design could potentially satisfy the new emerging requirements placed on the next generation of rotorcraft. The main benefit of the compound helicopter is its ability to reach speeds that significantly surpass the conventional helicopter. However, it is possible that the compound helicopter design can provide additional benefits in terms of maneuverability. The paper fea...

A hallmark of animal life is the ability to move through the environment to catch prey, avoid predators, or find mates. Animals achieve this using a staggering diversity of locomotor strategies despite having similar body shape and being subjected to similar physics—e.g., gazelles pronk and cheetahs gallop. These differences in strategy may allow animals to fill different ecological niches by a...

Various forms of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) have evolved to solve different subsea mission requirements, these can be loosely grouped into two types: torpedo style AUVs and hovering AUVs. Torpedo AUVs were initially developed to be launched from torpedo tubes and consequently resemble torpedoes with a propeller and control surfaces at the rear, these vehicles have poor slow speed man...

The marine boxfishes have rigid keeled exteriors (carapaces) unlike most fishes, yet exhibit high stability, high maneuverability and relatively low drag given their large cross-sectional area. These characteristics lend themselves well to bioinspired design. Based on previous stereolithographic boxfish model experiments, it was determined that vortical flows develop around the carapace keels, ...