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This surf-and-turf robot swims using ribbon-like fins. And it's floated for US Navy approval

Undulating propulsion system makes waves, useful for amphibious missions

Capturing energy

A series of patents followed, and by 2011, Pliant had government funding and had hired its first employee.

Using Dassault's Abaqus software – which Filardo rates highly for nonlinear modeling – Pliant set to work designing and building a generator to capture energy from waves.

"We developed the fluid mechanical coupling system, then we figured out how to get that to the dielectric elastomers," said Filardo. "Then we figured out how the electronics of the dielectric elastomers would harness the voltage. But what we couldn't get was the dielectric elastomer itself. The material science is not there yet."

Dielectric elastomers weren't durable enough, so Pliant turned to traditional electro-magnetics for energy generation.

After visiting the ONR to rethink the generator project, McKenna saw the technology's potential as a means of propulsion:

"It's amazingly agile because you can operate the fins on the two different sides."

The contract came in ten months ago, and at that point, amphibious operation wasn't part of the plan. But testing revealed that the robot could move well on land, including on snow and ice. Now, Filardo said, the focus is on adding support for autonomy.

Filardo cited his interdisciplinary background and that of his employees for Pliant's progress so far.

"I'm sort of an odd person in some ways," he said. "I've always been interested in pretty much everything. ... It is, I think, what allowed me to conceptualize this."

Filardo also credited his employees, whom he characterized as having broad interests and specialty skills. He described Daniel Zimmerman, director of science and engineering, as a physics PhD who has an intuitive grasp of mechanical design and excels at programming, electronics, and numerical modeling. He also praised industrial designer and mechanical engineer Michael Weaker as exceptionally innovative.

"It's just really good chemistry," he pointed out.

When Pliant had six people, Filardo said, things were more unwieldy. He wants to get back up to six, but he's looking for unique talents and compatibility more than academic achievement.

"One of the guys I had was actually brilliant," added Filardo. "By anybody's measurements, this guy's qualifications were breathtaking. But he couldn't do the work. He was a brilliant guy in the wrong field." ®

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