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Design of a Carangiform Swimming Robot through a Multiphysics Simulation Environment
Daniele Costa1, Giacomo Palmieri1, Matteo-Claudio Palpacelli1
1Department of Industrial Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy.
Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland)
|October 3, 2020
Summary
Researchers developed a novel carangiform robot propulsion system inspired by fish locomotion. This bio-inspired design enhances underwater robot efficiency and maneuverability for improved autonomy.
Area of Science:
- Robotics
- Bio-inspired Engineering
- Fluid Dynamics
Background:
- Autonomous underwater robots require efficient propulsion systems.
- Marine animal locomotion offers potential for bio-inspired robotic designs.
- Current bio-inspired propulsion systems have limitations in performance and maneuverability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and develop an improved bio-inspired propulsion system for autonomous underwater robots.
- To transition from ostraciiform to carangiform locomotion for enhanced propulsive efficiency and maneuverability.
- To create a transmission system enabling multi-jointed serial mechanisms to mimic fish-like tail undulations.
Main Methods:
- Design and fabrication of ostraciiform and carangiform swimming robots.
- Development of a novel transmission system for converting single motor rotation to traveling wave undulations.
- Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of the caudal fin thruster performance.
- Integration of numerical predictions into a multibody dynamic model for robot motion simulation.
Main Results:
- The developed transmission system successfully generated carangiform locomotion.
- CFD analysis provided insights into the propulsive performance of the caudal fin.
- Multibody dynamic simulations predicted robot cruising performance, considering mass distribution and hydrodynamic forces.
Conclusions:
- The study successfully demonstrated a bio-inspired carangiform propulsion system for underwater robots.
- The novel transmission mechanism is key to achieving efficient, fish-like swimming motions.
- The integrated dynamic analysis validates the system's potential for enhancing robot autonomy and maneuverability.
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