Toward Swimming Speed Optimization of a Multi-Flexible Robotic Fish With Low Cost of Transport

Due to the complex mechanism and fabrication process of flexible materials, it remains extremely challenging for a flexible robotic fish to achieve fast and efficient locomotion. In this article, taking advantage of the passive bending and energy storage properties of flexible materials, we propose an untethered robotic fish with multiple flexible joints to achieve high performance and low Cost of Transport (COT). First, combining rigid links and flexible materials, a compact flexible tail with a simple and efficient structure is proposed. Next, the pseudo-rigid body theory is applied to analyze the deformation of passive joints, and a full-state dynamic model is established. More importantly, an optimization method by adjusting the phase differences of the passive joints is used to obtain high aquatic performance. Finally, extensive simulations and experiments validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, and the robotic fish can achieve a maximum speed of 1.63 body length (BL) per second and a minimum COT of 4.8 J/m (2.87 J/m . kg). Compared with the multi-joint robotic fish with a similar design, the COT is reduced by up to 81.05% with the basically same aquatic ability. Excitingly, the flexible robotic fish can achieve a COT of 7.36 J/m at 1.23 BL/s, which is 15.72%-36.34% lower than that of the bluefin tuna and is within the range of yellowfin tuna, offering valuable insight into high speed and long endurance applications for underwater robots.

Automated summary

In this article, an untethered robotic fish with multiple flexible joints is proposed to achieve high performance and low Cost of Transport (COT) by taking advantage of the passive bending and energy storage properties of flexible materials. A compact flexible tail with a simple and efficient structure, combining rigid links and flexible materials, is proposed. The pseudo-rigid body theory is applied to analyze the deformation of passive joints, and an optimization method by adjusting the phase differences of the passive joints is used to obtain high aquatic performance.