Fish robotics: multi-fin propulsion and the coupling of fin phase, spacing, and compliance

Fish coordinate the motion of their fins and body to create the time-varying forces required for swimming and agile maneuvers. To effectively adapt this biological strategy for underwater robots, it is necessary to understand how the location and coordination of interacting fish-like fins affect the production of propulsive forces. In this study, the impact that phase difference, horizontal and vertical spacing, and compliance of paired fins had on net thrust and lateral forces was investigated using two fish-like robotic swimmers and a series of computational fluid dynamic simulations. The results demonstrated that the propulsive forces created by pairs of fins that interact through wake flows are highly dependent on the fins' spacing and compliance. Changes to fin separation of less than one fin length had a dramatic effect on forces, and on the phase difference at which desired forces would occur. These findings have clear implications when designing multi-finned swimming robots. Well-designed, interacting fins can potentially produce several times more propulsive force than a poorly tuned robot with seemingly small differences in the kinematic, geometric, and mechanical properties.