Hilary Bart‐Smith
Inspire Institute, University of Virginia, United States University
Papers
16
Total Citations
1,328
H-Index
14
About
Hilary Bart-Smith is a pioneering researcher in bio-inspired robotics, with a focus on high-performance underwater vehicles modeled after fast and efficient swimmers like tuna, manta rays, and cownose rays. Her major contributions include the development of the Tunabot platform, which experimentally quantifies the kinematics, speed, and power of tuna-like swimming at high frequencies, and the Tunabot Flex, which explores how tunable body stiffness enables fast, efficient locomotion. Her work on ionic polymer–metal composite (IPMC) artificial muscles has led to novel soft robotic manta rays capable of three-dimensional flapping motions. With over 1,200 total citations across her most-cited papers, Bart-Smith’s research bridges biology and engineering, providing fundamental insights into unsteady hydrodynamics and propulsive efficiency. Her Tunabot studies have been particularly influential, with the 2019 paper alone garnering 346 citations. She has also authored key review articles on batoid-inspired underwater robots, shaping the next generation of autonomous undersea vehicles. Her work is essential reading for anyone interested in bio-inspired robotics, soft actuators, and high-performance swimming machines.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2Tunable stiffness enables fast and efficient swimming in fish-like robots202 citations · 2021
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- 6Batoid Fishes: Inspiration for the Next Generation of Underwater Robots85 citations · 2011
- 7Bioinspired Propulsion Mechanisms Based on Manta Ray Locomotion75 citations · 2011
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- 10Ionic polymer-metal composite enabled robotic manta ray27 citations · 2011