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A Fast Online Elastic-Spine-Based Stiffness Adjusting Mechanism for Fishlike Swimming.

Xiaocun Liao^1,2, Chao Zhou¹, Long Cheng^2,3

¹Laboratory of Cognition and Decision Intelligence for Complex Systems, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

|April 22, 2024

Summary

This study introduces a robotic fish with an adjustable spine stiffness for enhanced swimming performance. This variable stiffness mechanism allows for rapid, fish-like adjustments, improving speed and efficiency.

Keywords:

elastic spine robotic fish stiffness adjustment strategy variable stiffness

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Area of Science:

Robotics
Biomimetics
Mechanical Engineering

Background:

Natural fish achieve optimal swimming by coordinating complex biological tissues to adjust fishtail stiffness.
Robotic fish require similar dynamic stiffness adjustment capabilities for improved performance, particularly for fast, online control over a wide range.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a robotic fish with a variable stiffness spine capable of rapid, large-range adjustments.
To optimize swimming performance through a dynamic stiffness adjustment strategy for multistage swimming.

Main Methods:

An elastic-spine-based robotic fish design using spring steel to emulate a fish spine.
Stiffness adjustment achieved by tuning the effective length of the elastic spine.
A Kane-based dynamic model to optimize motion performance and construct a stiffness adjustment strategy.

Main Results:

The robotic fish demonstrated stiffness switching within the maximum adjustable range in 0.26 seconds.
Simulations and experiments validated the variable stiffness robotic fish's feasibility.
Achieved a maximum speed of 0.43 m/s (0.81 Body Lengths per second) and a minimum cost of transport of 7.14 J/(kg·m).

Conclusions:

The proposed elastic-spine-based robotic fish effectively mimics natural fish stiffness modulation.
The variable stiffness mechanism significantly enhances swimming performance, speed, and energy efficiency.
The developed dynamic model and control strategy enable effective multistage swimming through online stiffness adjustment.