Hydrodynamics Simulation of a Dual Fin Propelled Biomimetic Amphibious Robot

Abstract

Biomimetic robots have great advantages in terms of flexibility, efficiency, and maneuverability. In this paper, a novel amphibious robot which mimics the undulation motion of stingrays and snakes are proposed. The robot is able to swim underwater and walk on land by a pair of undulating fins. The structure of the robot is designed and the principle of locomotion method are described. The calculation platform is established. And the dynamic mesh method for computational fluid dynamics simulation is outlined. Underwater motion simulation is conducted in surging, steering and in-situ rotation patterns. The results show that the robot is capable of multimodal locomotion by the coordination of two fins.