An artificial fish robot using ICPF actuator

Abstract

It is our purpose to develop an artificial fish robot that has characteristics of flexibility, driven by a low voltage, good response and safety in body. In this paper, we propose a new prototype model of an artificial fish robot utilizing ICPF (Ionic Conducting Polymer Film) actuator as the servo actuator. Biomimetic fish-like propulsion using ICPF actuator as a propulsion tail fin for an artificial fish robot swimming structure in water or aqueous medium is developed. The overall size of the artificial fish robot prototype shaped as a boat is 40 mm in length, 10 mm in width and 2 mm in thickness. There is a pair of platinum electrodes. Characteristics of the artificial fish robot are measured by changing the frequency of the input voltage from 0.1 Hz to 5 Hz. The experimental results indicate that the swimming speed of the proposed artificial fish robot can be controlled by changing the frequency of input voltage.