Bio-inspired flexible joints with passive feathering for robotic fish pectoral fins

Abstract

In this paper a novel flexible joint is proposed for robotic fish pectoral fins, which enables a swimming behavior emulating the fin motions of many aquatic animals. In particular, the pectoral fin operates primarily in the rowing mode, while undergoing passive feathering during the recovery stroke to reduce hydrodynamic drag on the fin. The latter enables effective locomotion even with symmetric base actuation during power and recovery strokes. A dynamic model is developed to facilitate the understanding and design of the joint, where blade element theory is used to calculate the hydrodynamic forces on the pectoral fins, and the joint is modeled as a paired torsion spring and damper. Experimental results on a robotic fish prototype are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the joint mechanism, validate the proposed model, and indicate the utility of the proposed model for the optimal design of joint depth and stiffness in achieving the trade-off between swimming speed and mechanical efficiency.