Design and Development of a Compliant Swimming Robot
Disciplines
Acoustics, Dynamics, and Controls | Computer-Aided Engineering and Design
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Swimming robots are mainly classified into two categories according to their propulsion method: Body/Caudal Fin (BCF) and Median/Paired Fin (MPF) swimming locomotion. BCF type of robots employ Caudal fins to generate a forward motion providing a steady horizontal orientation of the robot body, whereas MPF swimming robots employs pectoral fins to apply a thrust and power. The most important aspect of a swimming robot is the stable movement through water drag. Combination of these two types on a single swimming robot would increase the thrust and efficiency to overcome the water drag as well as providing stability. Therefore, in this study, we present a hybrid propulsion mechanism by using double soft legs as Caudal fins and side paddles as pectoral fins. We used electromagnetic actuation (servo motors) through the use of soft bodies to accomplish complex swimming motion from a 3-D printed design of a soft robot. There are flexible compliant members that serve as a joint between soft actuator fins and the rigid support frame where the servo motors are housed. The servo motors are controlled using Arduino to actuate the swimming using constant torque and velocity to propel the swimming robot through a medium of water. The design of our model stems from jellyfish motion, which uses the contraction and relaxing of the soft bodies to draw in water and then forcing it out to move the swimming robot forward.
In this study, we designed a compliant robot that has two main body parts, and consists of soft actuator legs, compliant paddle, floatation, and mini-DC motor housings, Arduino Uno, 4 Li-Po batteries to power up the Arduino and DC motor driver, Dual DC motor driver, and a servo. The swimming robot was tested for forward motion.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
SPCEET - Mechanical Engineering
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Ayse Tekes
Design and Development of a Compliant Swimming Robot
Swimming robots are mainly classified into two categories according to their propulsion method: Body/Caudal Fin (BCF) and Median/Paired Fin (MPF) swimming locomotion. BCF type of robots employ Caudal fins to generate a forward motion providing a steady horizontal orientation of the robot body, whereas MPF swimming robots employs pectoral fins to apply a thrust and power. The most important aspect of a swimming robot is the stable movement through water drag. Combination of these two types on a single swimming robot would increase the thrust and efficiency to overcome the water drag as well as providing stability. Therefore, in this study, we present a hybrid propulsion mechanism by using double soft legs as Caudal fins and side paddles as pectoral fins. We used electromagnetic actuation (servo motors) through the use of soft bodies to accomplish complex swimming motion from a 3-D printed design of a soft robot. There are flexible compliant members that serve as a joint between soft actuator fins and the rigid support frame where the servo motors are housed. The servo motors are controlled using Arduino to actuate the swimming using constant torque and velocity to propel the swimming robot through a medium of water. The design of our model stems from jellyfish motion, which uses the contraction and relaxing of the soft bodies to draw in water and then forcing it out to move the swimming robot forward.
In this study, we designed a compliant robot that has two main body parts, and consists of soft actuator legs, compliant paddle, floatation, and mini-DC motor housings, Arduino Uno, 4 Li-Po batteries to power up the Arduino and DC motor driver, Dual DC motor driver, and a servo. The swimming robot was tested for forward motion.