# Soft Biomimetic Underwater Vehicles: A Review of Actuation Mechanisms, Structure Designs and Underwater Applications

## TL;DR

This paper reviews soft biomimetic underwater vehicles, focusing on their actuation methods and potential for marine exploration and operations.

## Contribution

A comprehensive review of actuation mechanisms and structural designs for soft biomimetic underwater vehicles, highlighting their advantages and challenges.

## Key findings

- Soft biomimetic underwater vehicles offer higher adaptability and impact resistance compared to rigid vehicles.
- Fluid-powered, shape memory alloy, and electroactive polymer actuation each provide unique advantages for propulsion.
- Current challenges include limited actuation efficiency and material durability, but future prospects are promising.

## Abstract

The growing demand for marine resource development and in-depth exploration of the marine environment has positioned soft biomimetic underwater vehicles (SBUVs) as a research hotspot in the fields of underwater equipment and soft robotics. SBUVs are characterized by bodies made of flexible and extensible materials, integrating the dual advantages of softness and biomimetics. They can achieve muscle-like continuous deformation to efficiently absorb collision energy, while mimicking the propulsion mechanisms of marine organisms—such as fish and jellyfish—through undulating body movements or cavity contraction and relaxation. Such biomimetic propulsion is highly compatible with the flexible actuation of soft materials, enabling excellent environmental adaptability while maintaining favorable propulsion efficiency. Compared with traditional rigid underwater vehicles, SBUVs offer higher degrees of freedom, superior environmental adaptability, enhanced impact resistance and greater motion flexibility. This review systematically summarizes typical actuation methods for SBUVs—including fluid-powered actuation, shape memory alloy actuation, and electroactive polymer actuation—elaborating on their working principles, key technological advances, and representative application cases on SBUVs. These actuation mechanisms each offer distinct advantages. Fluid-powered systems are valued for high power density and precise motion control through direct fluidic force transmission. Shape memory alloys provide high force output and accurate positional recovery via controlled thermal phase changes. Meanwhile, electroactive polymers stand out for their rapid (often millisecond-scale) dynamic response, low hysteresis, and fine, muscle-like deformation under electrical stimuli. Current challenges are also analyzed, such as limited actuation efficiency, material durability issues, and system integration difficulties. Despite these constraints, SBUVs show broad application prospects in marine resource exploration, ecological monitoring, and underwater engineering operations. Future research should prioritize the development of novel materials, coordinated optimization of actuation and control systems, and breakthroughs in core technologies to accelerate the practical implementation and industrialization of SBUVs.