The development of a flapping fin for maneuvering

Abstract

A biorobotic fin has been developed that recreates the motions made by the bluegill sunfish's pectoral fin during maneuvers such as a yaw turn. The design of the fin is an evolution of a design used for a robotic fin that recreated the motions and hydrodynamic forces made by the sunfish during steady swimming. Due to a large number of degrees of freedom, the fin creates hydrodynamics similar to those created by the fish during the maneuver. The fin will serve as the foundation for a flexible, biorobotic fin capable of producing both steady swimming and maneuvering forces. The robotic fin is being developed as an experimental tool to investigate flapping fin propulsion and will lead to flapping based propulsors that will help give UUVs the agility of fish.