Bio-Inspired Design of an Underwater Robot Exploiting Fin Undulation Propulsion

Abstract

Interest in autonomous underwater vehicles is constantly increasing following the emerging needs of underwater exploration and military purposes. Thus, several new propulsion mechanisms are studied and developed. Fish swimming is a promising source of inspiration because they outperform conventional propellers in terms of energy efficiency and maneuvrability. Their advantages are not only due to the streamlined shape and their low-drag skin but also, above all, due to the particular fin motion, which makes thrust generation possible with small energy dissipation. This paper analyses the motion of batoid fishes that are considered highly efficient by biologists. Their motion is reproduced by different linkage mechanisms optimized to fit underwater robots. A bioinspired robot mimicking cownose ray locomotion is, then, designed and built. Numerical analysis of its dynamics allows us to measure the size of actuators and to estimate the robot behavior. Finally, the control algorithm that maintains the mechanism synchronization according to different strategies is described and some experimental results are presented.