VNIRO and MPEI specialists discussed the prospects for developing bionic underwater robots

 

The roundtable discussion focused on cybernetics and biomechanics of movement in aquatic environments, related to the development of domestic bionic underwater robots for marine research. VNIRO was represented by Vyacheslav Bizikov, Deputy Director for Research and Department Director; Lev Sidorov, Department Head; and Ilya Astakhov, Leading Specialist.

 

The discussion was based on two fundamental reports presented by leading specialists: Vyacheslav Bizikov, Doctor of Biological Sciences, and Viktor Kazantsev, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Neurotechnology at the Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod. Lobachevsky and the Laboratory of Neurobiomorphic Technologies at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.

 

Vyacheslav Bizikov's report, "Animal Movement in the Aquatic Environment," focused on the formation and evolution of locomotion in various groups of aquatic organisms: cephalopods, fish, reptiles, birds, and marine mammals. Particular attention was paid to the diversity of swimming strategies, buoyancy mechanisms, and the profound convergence observed in ichthyosaurs, sharks, and dolphins, which demonstrates the fundamental constraints and optimizations imposed by the aquatic environment.

 

In the second report, Viktor Kazantsev outlined the principles of biomorphic cybernetics—an approach in which the engineering design of underwater robots is based on the neuromotor architectures of living organisms. Under his leadership, bionic underwater fish-like vehicles are being developed that implement both classical and anisochronous tail locomotion modes, demonstrating superior energy efficiency and maneuverability compared to traditional underwater vehicles.

 

 

VNIRO Press Service