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Design and Performance of a Cownose Ray-Inspired Robot for Underwater Exploration

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Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems (Living Machines 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 14157))

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Abstract

This paper describes the design and experiments of a bioinspired robot imitating the swimming behavior of cownose rays. These creatures propel themselves by moving their flat and large pectoral fins, which generate a wave that pushes back the surrounding water, generating thrust through momentum conservation. The robot mimicking this motion features a stiff central body, which houses motors, batteries, and electronics and is equipped with flexible pectoral fins crafted from silicone rubber. Each fin is driven by a servomotor that propels a link inside the leading edge, allowing the wave motion to be recreated through the flexibility of the fins. To enhance maneuverability, two small, rigid caudal fins have also been added. The robot was designed, constructed, and tested, and the results indicated that the locomotion principle was effective, as the robot was capable of forward propulsion, left and right turns, and floating and diving maneuvers.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Meccanica, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 1, 20156, Milan, Italy

    Giovanni Bianchi, Lorenzo Maffi, Michele Tealdi & Simone Cinquemani

Authors
  1. Giovanni Bianchi
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  2. Lorenzo Maffi
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  3. Michele Tealdi
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  4. Simone Cinquemani
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Giovanni Bianchi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Italian Institute of Technology, Genova, Italy

    Fabian Meder

  2. Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA

    Alexander Hunt

  3. Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy

    Laura Margheri

  4. Radboud University Nijmegen, Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Anna Mura

  5. Italian Institute of Technology, Genova, Italy

    Barbara Mazzolai

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Bianchi, G., Maffi, L., Tealdi, M., Cinquemani, S. (2023). Design and Performance of a Cownose Ray-Inspired Robot for Underwater Exploration. In: Meder, F., Hunt, A., Margheri, L., Mura, A., Mazzolai, B. (eds) Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems. Living Machines 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 14157. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38857-6_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38857-6_19

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-38856-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-38857-6

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