Development of a Fish-Like Robot with a Continuous and High Frequency Snap-Through Buckling Mechanism Using a Triangular Cam

Abstract

This study focuses on the high maneuverability of fish in water to design a fish-like robot via snap-through buckling. The aim of this study is to improve swimming speed by increasing the frequency at which snap-through buckling occurs. Here, we propose a novel drive mechanism using a triangular cam that can continuously generate snap-through buckling at a high frequency. In addition, we developed a fish-like robot via the proposed mechanism and analyzed the influence of the frequency of snap-through buckling on swimming speed. The results obtained indicate that swimming speed is improved and that the relationship between frequency and swimming speed exhibits a single peak. In other words, the swimming speed is reduced when the frequency is significantly increased. We also determined that swimming speed was improved using a wide elastic thin plate as the driving mechanism.