Motion Analysis of a Manta Robot for Underwater Exploration by Propulsive Experiments and the Design of Central Pattern Generator

Abstract

Although, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) used for investigating underwater ecology have attracted the attention of underwater researchers, conventional AUVs moved underwater by screw propellers generate loud noise thatmay disturb the underwater environments and inhabitants to be observed. This paper discusses the development of an AUV that mimics the manta ray. Central Pattern Generators (CPGs) are also proposed to generate the motion of pectoral fins for Manta robot. The practicality of the robot is checked in underwater propulsion experiments, and the effectiveness of the proposed motion generation method is demonstrated in numerical simulations.