The soft robotic tentacle – pictured on display at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed. The National Robotarium
A new underwater robot designed with a soft, tentacle-like arm could change the way offshore infrastructure is inspected and maintained.
The 3.3-foot-long (one meter) robot was developed by the UK’s National Robotarium in collaboration with Senai Cimatec in Brazil. Its flexible design allows it to bend and conform to subsea structures, making it safer and more efficient than traditional rigid robotic arms.
This breakthrough could help reduce risks, cut costs, and extend the lifespan of offshore equipment worldwide.
Addressing offshore challenges
Offshore energy infrastructure stretches for millions of miles beneath the ocean. Subsea pipelines and equipment at depths of nearly 9,843 feet must be inspected regularly to ensure safety.
Failures can cost billions, and with decommissioning expenses projected to exceed $100 billion by 2030, prolonging the life of existing assets has become critical.
The tentacle robot offers an innovative solution. By combining a flexible backbone with tendon-like cables, the system can move with precision. Sensors embedded in the robot track its shape and position, even in turbulent water.
This allows it to perform delicate inspection tasks near wind farms, pipelines, and other subsea installations.
Tested in harsh conditions
The robot was tested at the National Robotarium’s wave tank facility. Results showed it can maintain stability when subjected to external forces of up to 300 g.
Even when disturbed, the robot quickly corrected its position and returned to its target state within seconds. This ability to adapt in unpredictable conditions makes it well-suited for deployment from underwater vehicles.
Rowanne Miller, Project Manager at the National Robotarium, explained the importance of the development.
“This breakthrough represents a significant milestone for the National Robotarium, showcasing our comprehensive end-to-end project delivery capabilities,” Miller said.
“Our team has taken this innovative underwater robot from initial concept through design and development to successful testing in real-world conditions. What makes this particularly exciting is that we’ve created a solution that doesn’t just incrementally improve existing technology. It fundamentally changes how we can approach underwater inspection tasks.”
She added, “This opens up new possibilities for safer, more precise interaction with critical subsea infrastructure and potentially transforms how we maintain and protect our offshore assets for decades to come.”
A global collaboration
The project highlights the value of international cooperation in robotics. Lucas Silva, Lead Researcher at Senai Cimatec, said the partnership was key to the achievement.
“We worked together with the National Robotarium to conceive an innovative take on underwater manipulation, opening up new use cases for the industry,” Silva said.
“This new branch of development represents an important and disruptive upgrade to our robotics development roadmap. The seamless cooperation with The National Robotarium played a key role in this new achievement, setting new standards for future international partnerships.”
The technology is aimed at offshore energy firms, subsea operators, and inspection providers. Current inspection methods rely on large vessels and divers, which increase safety risks and environmental impacts. The new system could reduce costs, improve safety, and cut carbon emissions by allowing smaller underwater vehicles to handle complex inspection tasks.
Scaling soft robotics
Soft robotics is often used in small-scale tasks like handling delicate objects. This project shows the technology can be scaled up to solve large, real-world engineering problems.
The tentacle robot will be showcased at the inaugural UK Robotics Expo, taking place at the National Robotarium on September 18.
If adopted at scale, the system could mark a turning point in offshore operations. It offers a way to improve safety, reduce costs, and protect vital infrastructure that supports the global energy industry.
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