Generalized gait control for biologically inspired undulatory robotic swimmers
Abstract
Swimming animals display exceptional ability to move efficiently in aquatic environments and display a rich diversity of mechanismsfor generating and controlling propulsive force. The swimming profile and performance of aquatic animals has been of interest to engineers, biologist, and roboticists alike. Among the different swimming modes, undulatory mode is common across various animals. In this swimming mode, traveling or stationary waves are generated over the body and the control of which results in the generation of propulsive force. Undulatory swimmers generate different types of waveforms over the body to control movement. For example, while the zebrafish larvae displays stereotypical travelling wave modes over the body while larvae of mosquitoes swim tail first where the posterior end of the body leads the anterior end. To achieve this mosquito larvae, display a side-to-side flexural motion through a high amplitude bodywave. These examples highlight the potential to exploit the basic principle of producing body waveforms that can result in hydrodynamic propulsive forces in various directions to aid locomotion. Some robotic prototypes that employ undulatory swimming have also been developed and tested in the recent past. However, these prototypes perform relatively basic waveforms and the potential to exploit the rich diversity of interactions between undulatory kinematics and resulting fluid mechanics forces remains unexplored. This project will combine experiments, numerical modelling and robotic testing to investigate the hydrodynamics of undulatory swimming to uncover the generalized relationships between waveform properties and the force generation. Scaling laws and gait control strategies will be developed and tested on robotic platforms to enable robotic swimmers to navigate effectively in complex aquatic environments.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 11, 2023
- Source ID
- N629092312073
Entities
People
- Sridhar Ravi
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of New South Wales