A Lamprey-Based Undulatory Vehicle

Abstract

A biologically-based autonomous underwater, vehicle modeled after a simple vertebrate, the sea lamprey, has been developed. This underwater robot has been designed for the specific mission of mine hunting in the littoral and sub-littoral zones where it will systematically search an area to identify and locate mines and obstacles. However, the technologies we have assembled are applicable to any task that requires underwater locomotion in a challenging, dynamic environment. The lamprey was selected as an animal model because of its ability of being free to move in three dimensions, its highly efficient and maneuverable form of locomotion, and its ability to navigate in currents.