A new blimp built in Switzerland uses artificial muscles to
glide through air as a fish moves through water, and it doesn't
require engines or noisy propellers to do it. The Airfish is
about 26 feet long and looks like a giant flying trout. Airfish
is filled with helium and made of special polymers that make it
move.The designers, led by Christa Jordi and colleagues from
EMPA, the Swiss federal laboratories for materials testing and
research in Dübendorf, replaced traditional motors with swaths
of acrylic polymers on each side of the Airfish. The polymers
connect to carbon electrodes, and when a voltage moves across
them, the electrodes are attracted to each other, compressing
the polymers. The Airfish is forced to flex like a contracting
muscle. By alternating the voltages applied to each side of the
vehicle, the team can make the ship shimmy like a fish.
Membranes on the tail move it back and forth, too. The team
modeled the Airfish after rainbow trout because they're
versatile swimmers, but aren't especial