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Updated: Jan 26, 2026
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Swimming Performance Assessment in Fishes
Published on: May 20, 2011
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Swimming Performance of a Tensegrity Robotic Fish
Bingxing Chen1, Hongzhou Jiang1
1School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China.
Soft Robotics
|April 16, 2019
Summary
This study introduces a tensegrity robotic fish, demonstrating its unique structure and locomotion capabilities. Tensegrity joints enhance swimming performance, achieving biological Strouhal numbers and stride lengths.
Area of Science:
- Robotics
- Biomimetics
- Mechanical Engineering
Background:
- Robotic fish design often focuses on mimicking biological swimmers.
- Tensegrity structures offer unique compliance and adaptability for robotic applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the structure, stiffness, and mechatronics of a novel tensegrity robotic fish.
- To analyze its locomotion kinematics and swimming performance.
- To investigate the impact of tensegrity joints on swimming efficiency.
Main Methods:
- Constructed a robotic fish using rigid segments connected by tensegrity joints and tension elements.
- Utilized harmonic input to excite dominant vibrational modes for locomotion.
- Performed harmonic analysis to identify different vibrational modes.
- Experimentally measured stride length and Strouhal number.
Main Results:
- The tensegrity robotic fish achieved a maximum stride length of approximately 0.5 body lengths per cycle.
- Experimental Strouhal numbers ranged from 0.45 to 0.55, closely matching carangiform swimmers.
- Two distinct vibrational modes were identified and demonstrated through harmonic analysis.
- Tensegrity joints were shown to improve swimming performance.
Conclusions:
- The developed tensegrity robotic fish effectively mimics biological swimming kinematics.
- Tensegrity joint design is a promising approach for enhancing robotic fish locomotion.
- Further research into tensegrity structures can lead to more efficient bio-inspired robots.
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