A Modular Biolocomotion Emulator for Hydrodynamic Testing in a Towing Tank

Hydrodynamic modeling and performance analysis of bio-inspired swimming

“…To successfully accomplish these missions, the design of these vehicles needs to satisfy specific performance requirements such as navigation autonomy including target recognition, obstacle avoidance, detection capabilities and awareness of the environment, agile maneuverability, long endurance, low acoustic noise or silent swimming, and a good stability. As such, researchers and engineers have been inspired by swimming species, especially their body morphology, fin shape, and kinematics, to develop an understanding of the associated locomotion mechanics and come up with different functional designs [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Fish rely mainly on two locomotion modes in swimming, namely, body and/or caudal fin (BCF) locomotion, and median and/or paired fin (MPF) locomotion [10].…”

“…The latter locomotion mode is used by about 85 % of the fish species [9]. Any of these modes or a combination of the two can be replicated to develop robotic systems that could outperform live fish and used in various engineering applications [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

“…The development of these robots involve the study of several aspects including locomotion pattern, kinematics, hydrodynamics, motion control, body morphology and material. Various bio-inspired robots have been reported in the literature [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]11]. These robots differ in terms of the propulsion mechanisms, which include a single joint with flapping fin or tail, multi-joint using a serially linked motor, or a soft flexible body made of smart material, the locomotion mode BCF or MPF, the buoyancy control system, the size, the autonomy level, and the swimming capabilities.…”