Design and experimental evaluation of the novel undulatory propulsors for biomimetic underwater robots

Inspired by wide and elongated fins of aquatic species, robotic undulatory propulsors are developed
to achieve advanced maneuverability. Through biological observation, undulatory fins are typically
comprised of more than 100 fin rays to propagate continuous and diverse propulsive waves for agile
locomotion. Due to practical engineering restrictions, most robotic undulatory propulsors are
characterized by limit number of long fin rays which intersect flexible fin surfaces as backbones
and partition them into multiple membrane-like segments. As spatially discrete surfaces affect waves
traveling and thrust efficiency, a novel undulatory propulsor has been proposed in this paper. By
taking advantage of an arc-shaped fin surface and its material properties, the newly developed
undulatory propulsor is equipped with a series of custom designed fin rays, which are only fastened
on the inner edge of fin surface so that the unconstrained part is flexural passively to form a
smooth fin pr...

Source: Bioinspiration and Biomimetics - July 25, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Yaxin Li, Lingguo Chen, Yu Wang and Cheng Ren Source Type: research