Robotic Fin Research Articles

Development of a bio-inspired transformable robotic fin

Fish swim by oscillating their pectoral fins forwards and backwards in a cyclic motion such that their geometric parameters and aspect ratios change according to how fast or slow a fish wants to swim; these complex motions result in a complicated hydrodynamic response. This paper focuses on the dynamic change in the shape of a fin to improve the underwater propulsion of bio-inspired mechanism. To do this, a novel transformable robotic fin has been developed to investigate how this change in shape affects the hydrodynamic forces acting on the fin. This robotic fin has a multi-link frame and a flexible surface skin where changes in shape are activated by a purpose designed multi-link mechanism driven by a transformation motor. A drag platform has been designed to study the performance of this variable robotic fin. Numerous experiments were carried out to determine how various controlling modes affect the thrust capability of this fin. The kinematic parameters associated with this robotic fin include the oscillating frequency and amplitude, and the drag velocity. The fin has four modes to control the cyclic motion; these were also investigated in combination with the variable kinematic parameters. The results will help us understand the locomotion performance of this transformable robotic fin. Note that different controlling modes influence the propulsive performance of this robotic fin, which means its propulsive performance can be optimized in a changing environment by adapting its shape. This study facilitates the development of bio-inspired unmanned underwater vehicles with a very high swimming performance.

Bio-inspired flexible joints with passive feathering for robotic fish pectoral fins

In this paper a novel flexible joint is proposed for robotic fish pectoral fins, which enables a swimming behavior emulating the fin motions of many aquatic animals. In particular, the pectoral fin operates primarily in the rowing mode, while undergoing passive feathering during the recovery stroke to reduce hydrodynamic drag on the fin. The latter enables effective locomotion even with symmetric base actuation during power and recovery strokes. A dynamic model is developed to facilitate the understanding and design of the joint, where blade element theory is used to calculate the hydrodynamic forces on the pectoral fins, and the joint is modeled as a paired torsion spring and damper. Experimental results on a robotic fish prototype are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the joint mechanism, validate the proposed model, and indicate the utility of the proposed model for the optimal design of joint depth and stiffness in achieving the trade-off between swimming speed and mechanical efficiency.

Hydrodynamics of a robotic fish tail: effects of the caudal peduncle, fin ray motions and the flow speed

Recent advances in understanding fish locomotion with robotic devices have included the use of biomimetic flapping based and fin undulatory locomotion based robots, treating two locomotions separately from each other. However, in most fish species, patterns of active movements of fins occur in concert with the body undulatory deformation during swimming. In this paper, we describe a biomimetic robotic caudal fin programmed with individually actuated fin rays to mimic the fin motion of the Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) and coupled with heave and pitch oscillatory motions adding to the robot to mimic the peduncle motion which is derived from the undulatory fish body. Multiple-axis force and digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) experiments from both the vertical and horizontal planes behind the robotic model were conducted under different motion programs and flow speeds. We found that both mean thrust and lift could be altered by changing the phase difference (φ) from 0° to 360° between the robotic caudal peduncle and the fin ray motion (spanning from 3 mN to 124 mN). Notably, DPIV results demonstrated that the caudal fin generated multiple wake flow patterns in both the vertical and horizontal planes by varying φ. Vortex jet angle and thrust impulse also varied significantly both in these two planes. In addition, the vortex shedding position along the spanwise tail direction could be shifted around the mid-sagittal position between the upper and lower lobes by changing the phase difference. We hypothesize that the fish caudal fin may serve as a flexible vectoring propeller during swimming and may be critical for the high maneuverability of fish.

Investigation of Fish Caudal Fin Locomotion Using a Bio-Inspired Robotic Model

Due to its advantages of realizing repeatable experiments, collecting data and isolating key factors, the bio-robotic model is becoming increasingly important in the study of biomechanics. The caudal fin of fish has long been understood to be central to propulsion performance, yet its contribution to manoeuverability, especially for homocercal caudal fin, has not been studied in depth. In the research outlined in this paper, we designed and fabricated a robotic caudal fin to mimic the morphology and the three-dimensional (3D) locomotion of the tail of the Bluegill Sunfish ( Lepomis macrochirus). We applied heave and pitch motions to the robot to model the movement of the caudal peduncle of its biological counterpart. Force measurements and 2D and 3D digital particle image velocimetry were then conducted under different movement patterns and flow speeds. From the force data, we found the addition of the 3D caudal fin locomotion significantly enhanced the lift force magnitude. The phase difference between the caudal fin ray and peduncle motion was a key factor in simultaneously controlling the thrust and lift. The increased flow speed had a negative impact on the generation of lift force. From the average 2D velocity field, we observed that the vortex wake directed water both axially and vertically, and formed a jet-like structure with notable wake velocity. The 3D instantaneous velocity field at 0.6 T indicated the 3D motion of the caudal fin may result in asymmetry wake flow patterns relative to the mid-sagittal plane and change the heading direction of the shedding vortexes. Based on these results, we hypothesized that live fish may actively tune the movement between the caudal fin rays and the peduncle to change the wake structure behind the tail and hence obtain different thrust and lift forces, which contributes to its high manoeuvrability.

Research and Simulation of a flexible robotic fish tail fin propulsion system

This article uses a flexible crescent caudal fin tuna as the research object, sets up the robot fish physical model ,researches the propulsion and advancing speed of the model, discusses forward speed, sliding and swing amplitude, frequency and phase to the flexible tail fin propulsive performance, and uses MATLAB to simulate, motion simulation is consistent with the way to achieve the real movement of the fish.

Performance study on a novel variable area robotic fin

Fish fin possesses large deformations in its motion cycle assisting fish's swimming, in which its geometric parameters such as surface area, aspect ratio change greatly, and the complex deformations and motions result in complicated hydrodynamic response. In this paper, the dynamic change of surface area is concentrated to improve the propulsion performance of underwater propeller. A novel variable area robotic fin is developed and the effect of surface area change on the hydrodynamic forces is investigated quantitatively. The robotic fin composes two parts: a base fin with hand shaped holes and a cover fin that fits the shape of the holes. The change of the surface area of the robotic fin is realized by rotating the cover fin to shield the holes in the base fin. A crank-rocker-cam composite mechanism is designed to realize the fin pitching motion and surface change motion synchronously with one driving motor. Four control modes of surface area change in a motion circle are investigated, namely, complete traditional invariable fin, traditional invariable fin with smaller surface, fin with larger surface during in-strokes and fin with larger surface during out-strokes. The thrust force and efficiency of the four control modes with various swimming speeds are detailed experimented and discussed. It is found that the variable area fin achieves a remarkable different hydrodynamic response and the corresponding control modes affect much. For the variable surface area fin, they generate average thrust force between the complete invariable fin and invariable fin with smaller surface, in which the fin with larger surface area during in-strokes follows closely the complete traditional invariable fin, while the fin with larger surface area during out-strokes performs more like the traditional invariable fin with smaller surface. It is interesting that fin with larger surface during in-strokes can generate much larger average thrust force than the fin with large surface during out-strokes. For the efficiency, the fin with larger surface during in-strokes behaves the best. And the effect of the surface area change ratio and time is closely connected with the control modes. Besides, the influences of pitching frequency and amplitude are also studied. The results demonstrate that the propulsive performance can be indeed improved by proper surface area change in a motion cycle, which will be an inspiration to the design of novel underwater robot propulsive system.

The Effects of Fluidic Loading on Underwater Contact Sensing with Robotic Fins and Beams.

As robots become more involved in underwater operations, understanding underwater contact sensing with compliant systems is fundamental to engineering useful haptic interfaces and vehicles. Despite knowledge of contact sensation in air, little is known about contact sensing underwater and the impact of fluid on both the robotic probe and the target object. The objective of this work is to understand the effects of fluidic loading, fin webbing, and target object geometry on strain sensation within compliant robotic fins and beams during obstacle contact. General descriptions of obstacle contact were sought for strain measurements in fins and beams. Multiple phases of contact were characterized where the robot, fluid, and object interact to affect sensory signals. Unlike in air, the underwater structure-fluid-structure interaction (SFSI) caused changes to strain in each phase of contact. The addition of webbing to beams created a mechanical coupling between adjacent beams, which changed contact strains. Complex obstacle geometries tended to make contact less apparent and caused stretch in fins. This work demonstrates several effects of fluidic loading on strain sensing with compliant robotic beams and fins as they contact obstacles in air and underwater, and provides guidance for future work in underwater active sensing with compliant manipulators.

Predicting propulsive forces using distributed sensors in a compliant, high DOF, robotic fin

Engineered robotic fins have adapted principles of propulsion from bony-finned fish, using spatially-varying compliance and complex kinematics to produce and control the fin’s propulsive force through time. While methods of force production are well understood, few models exist to predict the propulsive forces of a compliant, high degree of freedom, robotic fin as it moves through fluid. Inspired by evidence that the bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) has bending sensation in its pectoral fins, the objective of this study is to understand how sensors distributed within a compliant robotic fin can be used to estimate and predict the fin’s propulsive force. A biorobotic model of a bluegill sunfish pectoral fin was instrumented with pressure and bending sensors at multiple locations. Experiments with the robotic fin were executed that varied the swimming gait, flapping frequency, stroke phase, and fin stiffness to understand the forces and sensory measures that occur during swimming. A convolution-based, multi-input-single-output (MISO) model was selected to model and study the relationships between sensory data and propulsive force. Subsets of sensory data were studied to determine which sensor modalities and sensor placement locations resulted in the best force predictions. The propulsive forces of the fin were accurately predicted using the linear MISO model on intrinsic sensory data. Bending sensation was more effective than pressure sensation for predicting propulsive forces, and the importance of bending sensation was consistent with several results in biology and engineering studies. It was important to have a spatial distribution of sensors and multiple sensory modalities in order to predict forces across large changes to dynamics. The relationship between propulsive forces and intrinsic sensory measures is complex, and good models should allow for temporal lags between forces and sensory data, changes to the model within a fin stroke, and changes to the model through gait transitions.

Experimental investigation and propulsion control for a bio-inspired robotic undulatory fin

SUMMARYUndulatory fin propulsion, inspired by the locomotion of aquatic species such as electric eels and cuttlefish, holds considerable potential for endowing underwater vehicles with enhanced propulsion and maneuvering abilities, to address the needs of a growing number of applications. However, there are still gaps in our understanding of the effect of the fin undulations' characteristics on the generated thrust, particularly within the context of developing propulsion control strategies for such robotic systems. Towards this end, we present the design and experimental evaluation of a robotic fin prototype, comprised of eight individually-actuated fin rays. An artificial central pattern generator (CPG) is used to produce the rays' undulatory motion pattern. Experiments are performed inside a water tank, with the robotic fin suspended from a carriage, whose motion is constrained via a linear guide. The results from a series of detailed parametric investigations reveal several important findings regarding the effect of the undulatory wave kinematics on the propulsion speed and efficiency. Based on these findings, two alternative strategies for propulsion control of the robotic fin are proposed. In the first one, the speed is varied through changes in the undulation amplitude, while the second one involves simultaneous adjustment of the undulation frequency and number of waves. These two strategies are evaluated via experiments demonstrating open-loop velocity control, as well as closed-loop position control of the prototype.

Development and Motion Testing of a Robotic Ray

Biomimetics takes nature as a model for inspiration to immensely help abstract new principles and ideas to develop various devices for real applications. In order to improve the stability and maneuvering of biomimetic fish like underwater propulsors, we selected bluespotted ray that propel themselves by taking advantage of their pectoral fins as target. First, a biomimetic robotic undulating fin driven propulsor was built based on the simplified pectoral structure of living bluespotted ray. The mechanical structure and control circuit were then presented. The fin undulating motion patterns, fin ray angle, and fin shape to be investigated are briefly introduced. Later, the kinematic analysis of fin ray and the whole fin is discussed. The influence of various kinematic parameters and morphological parameters on the average propulsion velocity of the propulsor was analyzed. Finally, we conclude that the average propulsion velocity generally increases with the increase of kinematic parameters such as frequency, amplitude, and wavelength, respectively. Moreover, it also has a certain relationship with fin undulating motion patterns, fin ray angle, fin shape, and fin aspect ratio.

Non-Linear Finite Element Analysis of Biologically Inspired Robotic Fin Actuated by Soft Actuators

In this paper, a robotic fin was idealized with three rays, which are serially connected by thin flexible rubber membranes. Each ray consists a two chamber braided soft actuator operated by pneumatic pressure at the maximum of 20 kPa. The bending of the ray is achieved by alternating the supply of air to the chamber. The soft actuator bends to the right when the left chamber is pressurized and moves to the left when the right chamber is pressurized. The propulsive wave motion along the fin is thus achieved by oscillating the rays at the same frequency but in different phases. The finite element (FE) analysis was conducted in MARC®, nonlinear FE software, from which the lateral displacements of the rays and the corresponding effect on the membranes were measured. The wave amplitude of the fin was computed from the simulation results. The wave motion of the robotic fin and its corresponding pressure distributions were also observed and presented.

Effective Phase Tracking for Bioinspired Undulations of Robotic Fish Models: A Learning Control Approach

Robotic models have been used as one of the approaches to study fish locomotion. Therefore, this paper proposes an effective control scheme that enables robotic models to mimic fin-ray undulation kinematics of live fish. We found in the experiments of robotic fin undulation that the difference between the desired and actual trajectories can be significant. It is believed that the difference might be caused by the phase lagging effect. To tackle the phase tracking problem, a modified iterative learning control (ILC) scheme is proposed and implemented on the robotic fish model. Furthermore, a memory clearing operator is proposed to satisfy the Lipschitz condition. This is necessary for the convergence and feasibility of the ILC scheme. Finally, experimental results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed learning control approach, including the memory clearing operator.

Biomimetic and bio-inspired robotics in electric fish research

Weakly electric knifefish have intrigued both biologists and engineers for decades with their unique electrosensory system and agile swimming mechanics. Study of these fish has resulted in models that illuminate the principles behind their electrosensory system and unique swimming abilities. These models have uncovered the mechanisms by which knifefish generate thrust for swimming forward and backward, hovering, and heaving dorsally using a ventral elongated median fin. Engineered active electrosensory models inspired by electric fish allow for close-range sensing in turbid waters where other sensing modalities fail. Artificial electrosense is capable of aiding navigation, detection and discrimination of objects, and mapping the environment, all tasks for which the fish use electrosense extensively. While robotic ribbon fin and artificial electrosense research has been pursued separately to reduce complications that arise when they are combined, electric fish have succeeded in their ecological niche through close coupling of their sensing and mechanical systems. Future integration of electrosense and ribbon fin technology into a knifefish robot should likewise result in a vehicle capable of navigating complex 3D geometries unreachable with current underwater vehicles, as well as provide insights into how to design mobile robots that integrate high bandwidth sensing with highly responsive multidirectional movement.

Hydrodynamic Performance of an Undulatory Robot: Functional Roles of the Body and Caudal Fin Locomotion

Both body undulation and caudal fin flapping play essential locomotive roles while a fish is swimming, but how these two affect the swimming performance and hydrodynamics of fish individually is yet to be known. We implemented a biomimetic robotic fish that travel along a servo towing system, which can be regarded as “treadmill” of the model. Hydrodynamics was studied as a function of the principal kinetic parameters of the undulatory body and caudal fin of the model in a self-propelled condition, under which the time-averaged measured axial net force becomes zero. Thrust efficiency was estimated from two-dimensional digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) measurements in the horizontal and mid-caudal fin plane. The Single-Row Reverse Karman wake (2S) is commonly observed in many previous studies of live fish swimming. However, we show that a Double-Row Two-Paired vortices (2P) wake was generated by the robotic model for most kinetic parameter combinations. Interestingly, the 2S wake emerged within the results of a narrow range of robotic caudal fin pitch angles (0<0<10°), occurring concurrently with enhanced thrust efficiency. We also show that, compared with the effect of body wavelength ( ?), the wake structure behind the robotic swimmer is more sensitive to the Strouhal number ( St) and caudal fin pitch angle ( θ).

Undulating fins produce off-axis thrust and flow structures

While wake structures of many forms of swimming and flying are well characterized, the wake generated by a freely swimming undulating fin has not yet been analyzed. These elongated fins allow fish to achieve enhanced agility exemplified by the forward, backward and vertical swimming capabilities of knifefish, and also have potential applications in the design of more maneuverable underwater vehicles. We present the flow structure of an undulating robotic fin model using particle image velocimetry to measure fluid velocity fields in the wake. We supplement the experimental robotic work with high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics, simulating the hydrodynamics of both a virtual fish, whose fin kinematics and fin plus body morphology are measured from a freely swimming knifefish, and a virtual rendering of our robot. Our results indicate that a series of linked vortex tubes is shed off the long edge of the fin as the undulatory wave travels lengthwise along the fin. A jet at an oblique angle to the fin is associated with the successive vortex tubes, propelling the fish forward. The vortex structure bears similarity to the linked vortex ring structure trailing the oscillating caudal fin of a carangiform swimmer, though the vortex rings are distorted because of the undulatory kinematics of the elongated fin.

Influence of Reciprocal Effect Between Swimming Models and Undulating Fin Morphology on Robotics Propulsion Performance

We have previously designed an undulating robotic fin, which is inspired by the pectoral fin of stingray. A CFD-based comparison of optimal thrust and efficiency generation was made among four typical fin undulating swimmingmodels with different amplitude envelopes as well as the fin morphologic. To complement these studies, we consider in this paper the influence of reciprocal effect between swimming models and morphologic on the fin propulsion performance by both CFD and experiments methods. An unstructured, grid-based, unsteady Navier-Stokes solver with automatic adaptive re-meshing is used to compute the unsteady flow around the fin through twenty complete cycles. The pressure distribution on fin surface is computed and integrated to find fin propulsion forces. We conclude from the simulation that the compliance of the distribution mode of fin outline with amplitude envelope can generate the best propulsion performance. An experiment was conducted to verify the simulation results. It is hoped that the work concluded is useful for the optimal design of undulating robotic fins.

Special Issue on Focused Areas and Future Trends of Bio-Inspired Robots “Analysis, Control, and Design for Bio-Inspired Robotics”

Special Issue on Focused Areas and Future Trends of Bio-Inspired Robots “Analysis, Control, and Design for Bio-Inspired Robotics”

Hydrodynamic wake resonance as an underlying principle of efficient unsteady propulsion

AbstractA linear spatial stability analysis is performed on the velocity profiles measured in the wake of an actively flexible robotic elliptical fin to find the frequency of maximum spatial growth, that is, the hydrodynamic resonant frequency of the time-averaged jet. It is found that: (i) optima in propulsive efficiency occur when the driving frequency of a flapping fin matches the resonant frequency of the jet profile; (ii) there can be multiple wake resonant frequencies and modes corresponding to multiple peaks in efficiency; and (iii) some wake structures transition from one pattern to another when the wake instability mode transitions. A theoretical framework, termed wake resonance theory, is developed and utilized to explain the mechanics and energetics of unsteady self-propulsion. Experimental data are used to validate the theory. The analysis, although one-dimensional, captures the performance exhibited by a three-dimensional propulsor, showing the robustness and broad applicability of the technique.

A Novel Implementation of a Flexible Robotic Fin Actuated by Shape Memory Alloy

In this paper, study of a novel flexible robotic-fin actuated by Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) is presented. The developed robotic fin is capable of implementing various 3-Dimensional (3D) motions, which plays an important role in robot propulsion and maneuverability. Firstly, the morphological and mechanics parameters of a real pectoral fin from a carp are investigated. Secondly, a detailed design of the flexible pectoral fin driven by SMA is presented according to the previous morphological and mechanics analyses. Thirdly, a simplified theoretical model on the SMA fin plate is derived. The thermodynamics of the SMA plate and the relationship between curvature and phase transformation are analyzed. Finally, several simulations and model experiments are conducted according to the previous analyses. The results of the experiments are useful for the control of the robotic fin. The experimental results reveal that the SMA actuated fin ray has a good actuating performance.

Robotic pectoral fin thrust vectoring using weighted gait combinations

A method was devised to vector propulsion of a robotic pectoral fin by means of actively controlling fin surface curvature. Separate flapping fin gaits were designed to maximize thrust for each of three different thrust vectors: forward, reverse, and lift. By using weighted combinations of these three pre-determined main gaits, new intermediate hybrid gaits for any desired propulsion vector can be created with smooth transitioning between these gaits. This weighted gait combination WGC method is applicable to other difficult-to-model actuators. Both 3D unsteady computational fluid dynamics CFD and experimental results are presented.