Two student teams, supervised by Dr Lan, won the Maker Potential Award (創客潜力獎) at the 2025 Makerthon – Technology Empowerment × Future-Making Competition (創客松-科技賦能X自造未來競賽). One team developed an innovative aerial drone, while the other created a submersible vehicle inspired by marine engineering, both demonstrating the creative spirit and technical skills celebrated by the event.
Three undergraduates, supervised by Dr Lan, won 1st place at the 2025 Ocean Challenge (臺灣海洋國際青年論壇) with a manta ray-inspired underwater vehicle.
Six postgraduate students have joined the lab. Welcome aboard!
Dr Lan’s latest study, Flow-induced variations in odour boundary formation, explores how odours spread through moving air, an essential process in animal navigation and robotic sensing. Through flow simulations, the research introduces the concept of an ‘odour boundary’ and analyses how it responds to changes in flow speed and diffusion conditions. The team found that while diffusion has limited effect, higher airflow speeds narrow and stabilise the odour boundary. These findings deepen our understanding of biological tracking behaviours and may aid the design of robots capable of locating odour sources in complex environments.
For more information please refer to https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physd.2025.134827.
Under the guidance of Dr Lan, two student teams from the lab took part in the 2025 Bionic Design Competition (仿生設計競賽), an event showcasing nature-inspired innovation for sustainability. Among 78 entries, both teams received awards for their nature-inspired designs: one received a Merit Award for their bio-inspired stingray underwater vehicle, while the other was awarded Honourable Mention for a butterfly-inspired micro air vehicle. The competition, supported by Biomimicry Taiwan, promotes sustainable innovation rooted in natural principles, addressing global challenges from disaster resilience to environmental health.
Dr Lan and Dr Lai’s latest study, ‘Accelerating Flapping Flight Analysis: Reducing CFD Dependency with a Hybrid Decision Tree Approach for Swift Velocity Predictions’, has been published in Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena. The research introduces a novel framework combining signal decomposition and decision tree algorithms, reducing computational time by up to 75% while maintaining high accuracy. Validated with damselfly data, this approach accelerates flapping flight analysis and supports the efficient design of micro air vehicles (MAVs), offering a scalable solution for future aerodynamic research.
For more information please refer to https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physd.2025.134618.
Dr Lan and his research team have been recognised by the American Institute of Physics (AIP), with their latest study selected as a feature article on Kudos’ Showcase platform. The research, titled ‘Balancing Thrust and Energy Efficiency: Optimised Asymmetric Flapping Inspired by Batoid Locomotion’, explores how the unique swimming motion of stingrays can inspire more efficient designs for underwater vehicles.
By using advanced computer simulations, the team discovered that shorter, quicker downstrokes—similar to how stingrays naturally move—enhance thrust while reducing energy consumption. These findings could lead to the development of underwater vehicles and robots that move more efficiently, with potential applications in marine exploration and environmental monitoring.
Currently, Dr Lan and his team have three articles featured on the AIP Publishing Showcase homepage, highlighting their contributions to nature-inspired scientific research.
Dr Lan has been honoured with the Outstanding Reviewer Award 2024, a prestigious accolade recognising his significant contributions to academic research. Congratulations!
Dr Lan, Dr Lai and their team have published a study in Physics of Fluids exploring how stingray-like asymmetric flapping enhances underwater propulsion. Using a NACA 0012 hydrofoil at a Reynolds number of 10,000 and NSGA-II optimisation, they identified six optimal motion patterns with brief downstrokes. Their findings reveal how harmonic tuning influences vortex dynamics, closely resembling natural swimming. This research provides key insights for designing efficient biomimetic aquatic robots, advancing underwater propulsion technology.
For more information please refer to https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0253805.
Six bachelor’s students have joined the lab. Welcome aboard!
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