Shaping the Future of Underwater Robots with NSF CAREER Award
Patrick Musgrave, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Florida, has been awarded a CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation, one of the most prestigious honors given to early-career faculty in science and engineering. The award supports both groundbreaking research and educational outreach, and it includes federal funding for a five-year project aimed at advancing underwater robotics.
Musgrave’s winning proposal, titled “Controlling Undulatory Soft Robotic Swimmers using Embodied Intelligence,” seeks to develop a new kind of soft-bodied unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), one that mimics the efficient, silent swimming patterns of fish and uses its own flexible body to make informed decisions in real time.
These flexible machines could one day monitor coral reefs, explore the deep sea, or assist with national defense, missions where traditional rigid robots just can’t keep up. But these swimmers? They’ll do more than just move, they will think with their bodies.
Current underwater vehicles often struggle with the harsh conditions found in oceans: crashing waves, turbulent coastal currents, and intense pressure at depth. Musgrave’s research aims to take inspiration from marine life that can tackle these obstacles with ease. His work focuses on “Embodied intelligence,” or the idea that a robot’s body itself can perform part of the computing and decision-making, reducing the need for complex algorithms and heavy processors.
Musgrave with Nebula, a soft robotic swimmer with artificial muscles
“In nature, fish don’t just rely on brains—they use the shape, motion, and stiffness of their bodies to respond to their environment,” Musgrave explained. “We’re designing robots that do the same thing. By learning from nature, we can build machines that are simpler, more efficient, and better suited to extreme environments.”
Physical reservoir computing is used to achieve this by turning the robot’s body into a type of physical computer. Instead of running complex calculations in a digital computer, the robot uses its own body and the way it interacts with water. Each change in pressure, current, or flow will allow the soft body to flex, and those movements turn into critical information. The reactions and responses made are remembered by the robot and used to guide future actions. The result is a robot that can adapt its swimming patterns on the go, without needing a lot of computing power.
Current generation of the soft robotic swimmer, Nebula, which has distributed muscles and embedded kinematic sensor.
Musgrave’s work focuses on three main research goals:
Identifying the fundamental principles of embodied intelligence in undulatory swimming.
Understanding how body stiffness and artificial muscle actuation affect control.
Using these insights to design UUVs that can operate under a wide range of aquatic conditions.
But Musgrave’s project isn’t just about cutting-edge robotics. It’s also about inspiring the next generation of innovators. In line with the NSF’s broader impacts goals, the award will support several educational initiatives: designing hands-on soft robotics kits to spark curiosity in fourth-grade classrooms, involving undergraduates in real-world research, and teaming up with coastal scientists to guide how the technology could be used in the field.
“This award is not just about building better robots,” Musgrave said. “It’s also about inspiring the next generation of engineers and finding creative ways to connect scientific research with real-world needs.”
Musgrave has been on a roll this year, also earning a coveted Young Investigator Program award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. With support from both the NSF and AFOSR, his work is quickly gaining national recognition. UF’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering is proud to celebrate and to support Dr. Musgrave’s visionary contributions to robotics, education, and national impact.
Story & Design by: Christi Swiers Marketing & Communications Specialist UF Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
