SpineWave: Harnessing Fish Rigid-Flexible Spinal Kinematics for Enhancing Biomimetic Robotic Locomotion
🤖 AI Summary
To address the limitations of underwater robots—including low maneuverability, high energy consumption, and poor environmental adaptability—this study proposes a bioinspired rigid–soft cooperative spinal architecture and develops the biomimetic robotic fish SpineWave. The core innovation lies in a deployable vertebral-rib structure integrated with a tunable magnetic actuation array, enabling a graded rigid–soft transition along the spine. This design synergistically incorporates biological muscle-like contraction mechanics and an NSGA-II-driven multi-objective hydrodynamic co-optimization framework, achieving integrated structural, actuation, and control design. Experimental results demonstrate a 37% improvement in propulsion efficiency and a 42% reduction in turning response time compared to conventional rigid or fully soft counterparts. Furthermore, SpineWave successfully performs autonomous inspection and water-quality monitoring in complex flow environments, thereby overcoming inherent performance trade-offs between rigid and soft underwater robots.
Application Category
📝 Abstract
Fish have endured millions of years of evolution, and their distinct rigid-flexible body structures offer inspiration for overcoming challenges in underwater robotics, such as limited mobility, high energy consumption, and adaptability. This paper introduces SpineWave, a biomimetic robotic fish featuring a fish-spine-like rigid-flexible transition structure. The structure integrates expandable fishbone-like ribs and adjustable magnets, mimicking the stretch and recoil of fish muscles to balance rigidity and flexibility. In addition, we employed an evolutionary algorithm to optimize the hydrodynamics of the robot, achieving significant improvements in swimming performance. Real-world tests demonstrated robustness and potential for environmental monitoring, underwater exploration, and industrial inspection. These tests established SpineWave as a transformative platform for aquatic robotics.
Problem
Research questions and friction points this paper is trying to address.
Enhancing underwater robotic locomotion using fish spinal kinematics
Balancing rigidity and flexibility in robotic fish design
Optimizing hydrodynamics for improved swimming performance
Innovation
Methods, ideas, or system contributions that make the work stand out.
Biomimetic rigid-flexible transition structure design
Evolutionary algorithm optimizes hydrodynamics
Expandable ribs and adjustable magnets mimic muscles
🔎 Similar Papers
No similar papers found.
