Parametric Study of Modular and Reconfigurable Robotic Fish with Oscillating Caudal Fin Mechanisms

Abstract

Biomimetic robots replicate their senses and structures from animals, such as insects, fishes and human. Development of underwater vehicles is one of the areas where biomimetic robots can potentially perform better than conventional robots in some application. In this paper, an Asian Arowana robot with a caudal fin mechanism has been developed. The performance of the fin design is evaluated through a series of experiments. The experiments conducted in the laboratory setting aim to study the variation of robotic fish's velocity with respect to fin's angular displacements and velocities. The testing also enables us to understand the effects of fin size and fin materials. Field trials were conducted in an outdoor pool to evaluate the swimming capability of the carangiform robot fish.