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Motion Control of Capsule-like Underwater Robot Utilizing the Swing Properties of Ionic Polymer Metal Composite Actuators

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Abstract

Ionic Polymer Metal Composite (IPMC) is a novel electrically actuated intelligent material with the advantages of big bending displacement, low driving voltage, flexible and so on. It has been recognized as one of the most attractive actuators with prospective applications for underwater robots and bionic organs. In this work, a capsule-like robot was introduced with the pectoral and caudal fins made of IPMC. By analyzing the properties of displacement response to square waves with different frequencies and low level voltages, it was found that performance of IPMC are frequency sensitive. Besides, when the absolute value of low level voltage decreases, IPMC could swing on one side with the decrease in amplitudes, whereas the amplitude at high level voltage fluctuates within small ranges at low frequencies. IPMC tip can approximately maintain when the frequency of driving signal around 30 Hz. Such properties were employed to control the locomotion of robot combining the motions of pectoral and caudal fin. Thus, the locomotions of swimming forward, turning and positioning were realized.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. U1637101 and 51605220), Key Laboratory of Photoelectric Control Technology and Aviation Science Foundation (No. 20175152037), Shanghai Key Laboratory of Spacecraft Mechanism, and the Foundation of Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Bionic Functional Materials (No. NJ2019015).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Bionic Functional Materials of Jiangsu Province, Nan**g University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nan**g, 210016, China

    Hongkai Li, Min Fan, Yinghao Yue, Guoliang Hu, Qingsong He & Min Yu

  2. College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nan**g University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nan**g, 210016, China

    Hongkai Li, Min Fan, Yinghao Yue, Guoliang Hu, Qingsong He & Min Yu

  3. Science and Technology on Electro-optic Control Laboratory, Luoyang, 471000, China

    Hongkai Li

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  1. Hongkai Li
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  2. Min Fan
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  4. Guoliang Hu
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Correspondence to Min Yu.

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Li, H., Fan, M., Yue, Y. et al. Motion Control of Capsule-like Underwater Robot Utilizing the Swing Properties of Ionic Polymer Metal Composite Actuators. J Bionic Eng 17, 281–289 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42235-020-0022-7

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