Engineering Solutions From Nature
Above: Assistant Professor Tianlu Wang working with a robot arm to wirelessly control magnetic soft robots in physiologically relevant conditions towards medical applications Credit: Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems
NATURE IS A MASTER ENGINEER. From the fluid motion of fish and elegant propulsion of jellyfish, to the shape-adapting capabilities of an octopus, nature’s creatures have remarkable bio-mechanical capabilities that can offer technical solutions to many of today’s most complex challenges, according to University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UH Mānoa) College of Engineering Assistant Professor Tianlu Wang.
Wang’s fundamental biomechanics research has allowed him to develop groundbreaking innovations — bio-inspired soft robots that can serve as cutting-edge tools in addressing persisting healthcare, sustainability and industrial challenges, particularly unique to island communities like those in Hawai‘i.
By decoding how small aquatic animals move and function efficiently through hard-to-reach, fluid environments, Wang’s tiny soft robots mimic these traits, enabling them to maneuver with similar grace and resilience through environments like delicate underwater ecosystems or the human body.
“Drawing inspiration from nature and leveraging its governing principles allows us to build better robotic systems and to improve life,” said Wang.
Biomechanical Robots
More than 90 percent of marine life is smaller than 10 centimeters, and their locomotion techniques are marvels of efficiency and adaptability. From larval zebrafish to jellyfish, these creatures display soft-bodied locomotion, large deformations, and shape adaptations that Wang’s lab research has captured and translated into robotic performance.
By capturing wake flow patterns and studying fluid-structure interactions of these tiny creatures, Wang’s team was able to mimic these biomechanical actions to improve propulsion, momentum, and efficiency in robotic movement. One example is a robotic swimmer he created that emulates larval zebrafish by using a uniform stiffness distribution and an oscillating magnetic field to reproduce energy-efficient, silent swimming.
“Such insights don’t just make for better robots, they can help biologists understand the fundamental biomechanics of animal life, and hopefully inspire new collaborations between engineers and marine biologists to better understand and replicate these remarkable organisms to create solutions for everyday life,” said Wang.
Promising Applications in Medicine
Wang and his team recently made headlines by scaling down soft robots to the millimeter and micrometer range, in a development that could transform healthcare. Developed in partnership with several institutions, including ETH Zurich in Switzerland and the Max Planck Institute in Germany, Wang’s medical micro-robots (each no bigger than a grain of rice), can be independently controlled inside the human body using external magnetic fields.
Wang and his team successfully demonstrated how the micro-robots work in an artificial vascular system through medical imaging-guided experiments. The micro-robots were able to deliver targeted cargo, modify fluid flow, and operate simultaneously at multiple sites— all tasks that once required separate invasive procedures.
The real innovation lies in the soft, flexible structure of the robots, which allows them to adapt their shape to a human body’s complex internal pathways – much like an octopus squeezing through a crevice. This allows them to safely interact with tissue, which is essential for minimally invasive surgeries.
“This technology has the potential to revolutionize how and where complex conditions are treated,” said Wang. “By enabling cutting-edge treatment options more locally and less invasively, these robots can transform patient care especially for those in Hawai‘i’s elderly and rural communities, who often have to travel by plane for specialized medical procedures.”
Marine Conservation Potential
Each year, 4.8 to 12.7 million tons of plastic debris end up in the ocean, suffocating, entangling or being ingested by marine life. As climate change volatility and pollution continue to stress ocean ecosystems, Wang’s soft robots offer a gentle yet powerful new tool for conservationists.
At the 2024 Artificial Intelligence for Good Global Summit hosted by the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union, Wang unveiled a robot platform whose design was inspired by jellyfish — natural masters of gentle yet energy-efficient propulsion. Wang’s robot holds great potential to navigate fragile ecosystems such as coral reefs or seagrass meadows. These soft-bodies machines can collect research data and samples, manipulate objects, clean up marine debris, monitor microbial life and even film marine species in their habitat — all with minimal disruption and without causing harm to marine life.
Featured in Science Advances and highlighted by international environmental groups, these devices are part of a broader movement to advance and utilize robotics in marine conservation, and expand to other applications in dynamic waters, such as aquaculture, environmental monitoring, and sustainability.
Innovation for Island Communities
As his lab continues to grow, Wang is attracting global collaborators and training the next generation of roboticists who will carry forward this blend of biological insight, mechanical ingenuity, and community-driven purpose.
“Rooted in the fundamental breakthroughs of miniature bio-inspired soft robotics, Professor Wang is dedicated to advancing these technologies and combining them with general robotics knowledge to develop powerful real-world applications relevant to our unique island community,” said UH Mānoa’s College of Engineering Dean Brennon Morioka. “His research truly embraces the roots of science and innovation in Hawai‘i and has the capacity for long-range societal impact. From advancing our healthcare practices to protecting our fragile marine ecosystems, the potential is vast — and we are excited for the next chapter to come.”