AquaMILR+ Limbless Robot

Collaborators: Tianyu Wang, Galen Tunnicliffe, Donoven Dortilus, Peter Gunnarson, John O. Dabiri, Daniel I. Goldman

A novel untethered limbless robot designed for complex aquatic terrain navigation. This project was accepted to ICRA 2025 and features advanced mechanical intelligence for robust movement in challenging environments.

AquaMILR+ in open water
Rendering of AquaMILR+ in the open ocean
AquaMILR+ CAD design
CAD Design
AquaMILR+ assembly
Full Assembly

Electronics Module

Buoyancy Module

Depth Control System
Patent Pending

Demo Video

Preview: ICRA 2025 Paper (PDF)
View Published Paper on IEEE
AquaMILR+: Design of an untethered limbless robot for complex aquatic terrain navigation

Related Publications & Abstracts

Patent

  • M. Fernandez, T. Wang, D. I. Goldman. Compact buoyancy control assembly for underwater robotic systems or equipment (filed patent application 2024)

Peer-Reviewed Publications

  • M. Fernandez, T. Wang, G. Tunnicliffe, D. Dortilus, P. Gunnarson, J.O. Dabiri, D. I. Goldman. AquaMILR+: Design of an untethered limbless robot for complex aquatic terrain navigation. arXiv:2409.18383 (accepted ICRA 2025)
  • T. Wang, N. Mankame, M. Fernandez, V. H. Kojuoharov, D. I. Goldman. AquaMILR: Mechanical intelligence simplifies control of undulatory robots in cluttered fluid environments (accepted ICRA 2025)

Conference Abstracts

  • M. Fernandez, T. Wang, G. Tunnicliffe, D. Dortilus, D. I. Goldman. Design of an untethered limbless robot for aquatic locomotion in complex environments. American Physical Society Meeting, March 2025.
  • T. Wang, M. Fernandez, G. Tunnicliffe, D. Dortilus, D. I. Goldman. Mechanical and computational intelligence enable agile and robust limbless robotic locomotion in complex aquatic environments. American Physical Society Meeting, March 2025.
  • M. Fernandez, T. Wang, G. Tunnicliffe, D. Dortilus, D. I. Goldman. Design of an untethered underwater limbless robot for complex aquatic terrain navigation. SICB Annual Meeting, January 2025.
  • T. Wang, M. Fernandez, G. Tunnicliffe, D. Dortilus, D. I. Goldman. Mechanically intelligent undulatory robotic locomotion in complex aquatic environments. SICB Annual Meeting, January 2025.

Presentations

  • Design of an untethered limbless robot for complex aquatic terrain navigation. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2025.
  • Design of an untethered limbless robot for aquatic locomotion in complex environments. American Physical Society Meeting, March 2025.
  • Mechanically intelligent undulatory robotic locomotion in complex aquatic environments. College of Science Undergraduate Research Showcase, February 2025.
  • Design of an untethered underwater limbless robot for complex aquatic terrain navigation. SICB Annual Meeting, January 2025