Supercomputer shows how dolphins swim fast, water robot application eyed

OSAKA - Researchers at a Japanese university used supercomputer simulations to find that dolphins produce large, powerful vortices by flapping their tails up and down to swim quickly, raising hopes of developing underwater robots that can move swiftly while using little energy.

A 2006 study by U.S. researchers found that dolphins can swim at speeds of up to 30 kilometers per hour. But efforts to uncover the mechanism behind this ability were hindered by the turbulence generated by the dolphins' large tail movements, which disrupted the velocity and direction of the surrounding water.