Design and experimental study of a bionic stingray robot

Abstract

Inspired by the pectoral fin fluctuation swimming of the biological stingray, a bionic stingray robot prototype was designed with reference to the morphological proportions of the stingray, which is capable of performing a more supple pectoral fin fluctuation motion. With the research objective of exploring the effects of fin oscillation frequency, maximum oscillation angle, and fin surface offset angle on the propulsive force of the bionic stingray robot, the relevant experimental programme was designed and tested according to the control variable method. Within the range of experimental data, it was concluded that the propulsive force was increasing with increasing swing frequency and increasing with increasing maximum swing angle.