A Review on Development of Robotic Fish

Abstract

In this paper, types of fish swimming propulsion and the mechanics of fish locomotion are reviewed. Body and/or caudal fin (BCF) locomotion and median and/or paired fin (MPF) locomotion are two main categories of fish swimming propulsion. The swimming and characteristics of each propulsion mode are discussed for the development of fish robotics. Development of robotic fish propulsion involves several aspects such as shape of the robot, pattern of movement, hydro-dynamics, control system, location on the machine, mechanical properties and material properties. Various structures and materials used in existing fish robots and significance of selection are reviewed. Several actuators including conventional actuators have been considered. Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite (IPMC), piezoceramic materials, shape memory alloy (SMA) wires and pneumatic soft actuator have been recently attempted and their unique characteristics, advantages and limitations are discussed. Appropriate control system needs to be designed for proper propulsion of fish robots, hence various control system used in the past are presented. Finally, improvements and alternative technique for maneuvering the vessel are proposed. Keywords : Swimming locomotion, thrust generation, effective maneuvering