Soft Fluidic Closed-Loop Controller for Untethered Underwater Gliders

Abstract

Soft underwater robots typically explore bio-inspired designs at the expense of power efficiency when compared to traditional underwater robots, which limits their practical use in real-world applications. We leverage a fluidic closed-loop controller to actuate a passive underwater glider. A soft hydrostatic pressure sensor is configured as a bang-bang controller actuating a swim bladder made from silicone balloons. Our underwater glider oscillates between the water surface and 4 m depth while traveling 15 m translationally. The fluidic underwater glider demonstrates a power efficiency of 28 mW/m. This work demonstrates a low-cost and power-efficient underwater glider and non-electronic controller. Due to its simple design, low cost, and ease of fabrication using FDM printing and soft lithography, it serves as a starting point for the exploration of non-electronic underwater soft robots.