Computational model of swimming fish could inspire design of robots, medical prosthetics

Computational model of swimming fish could inspire design of robots, medical prosthetics: "When a fish moves in a fluid, muscles contract, but the fluid also moves against the body. So, the amount the body moves depends on the internal muscle force and the external reaction of fluids," explained Eric D. Tytell, who conducted this research as a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Professor Avis Cohen, Department of Biology. "Previous studies examined body mechanics separately from fluid mechanics because it is a very hard problem to solve. This is the first time that anyone has put together a computational framework to simulate this for large, fast animals like fishes."