Propulsion
Related papers: 20
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Propulsion refers to the mechanisms and systems that generate motion in robotic and autonomous platforms, enabling movement through air, water, space, or across surfaces. In robotics and AI, propulsion encompasses a remarkably broad range of approaches: bio-inspired designs mimicking fish fins, jellyfish pulses, bacterial flagella, and undulatory swimming; soft robotic actuators using shape memory alloys, dielectric elastomers, and liquid crystal elastomers; magnetic and light-driven systems for micro- and nanorobots operating in biomedical environments; and conventional thrusters for aerial vehicles and spacecraft, including solar sails and micropropulsion systems for CubeSats. Researchers study propulsion to optimize efficiency, maneuverability, and scalability across vastly different size regimes and operating environments—from nanoscale robots navigating human vasculature to autonomous underwater vehicles exploring deep oceans to spacecraft conducting planetary entry and descent. Understanding propulsion is foundational to robotics because locomotion capability directly determines where a robot can operate, what tasks it can perform, and how effectively it can interact with its environment, making advances in propulsion central to expanding the reach and capability of autonomous systems.
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Top Institutes
Top Cited Papers
Review of fish swimming modes for aquatic locomotion
Michael Sfakiotakis, David M. Lane, J.B.C. Davies
Citations: 1901 • 1999
Mars Exploration Entry, Descent, and Landing Challenges
Robert D. Braun, Robert M. Manning
Citations: 531 • 2007
Untethered soft robotic matter with passive control of shape morphing and propulsion
Arda Kotikian, Connor McMahan, Emily Davidson, Jalilah M. Muhammad, Robert D. Weeks, Chiara Daraio, Jennifer A. Lewis
Citations: 454 • 2019
Flagellated Magnetotactic Bacteria as Controlled MRI-trackable Propulsion and Steering Systems for Medical Nanorobots Operating in the Human Microvasculature
Sylvain Martel, Mahmood Mohammadi, Ouajdi Felfoul, Zhao Lu, Pierre Pouponneau
Citations: 453 • 2009
Harnessing bistability for directional propulsion of soft, untethered robots
Tian Chen, Osama R. Bilal, Kristina Shea, Chiara Daraio
Citations: 416 • 2018
Soft Biomimetic Fish Robot Made of Dielectric Elastomer Actuators
Jun Shintake, Vito Cacucciolo, Herbert Shea, Dario Floreano
Citations: 359 • 2018
Fish biorobotics: kinematics and hydrodynamics of self-propulsion
George Lauder, Erik J. Anderson, James L. Tangorra, Peter G. Madden
Citations: 359 • 2007
Review of biomimetic underwater robots using smart actuators
Won‐Shik Chu, Kyung‐Tae Lee, Sung-Hyuk Song, Min‐Woo Han, Jang-Yeob Lee, Hyungsoo Kim, Min‐Soo Kim, Yong-Jai Park, Kyu‐Jin Cho, Sung‐Hoon Ahn
Citations: 352 • 2012
Bacterial flagella-based propulsion and on/off motion control of microscale objects
Bahareh Behkam, Metin Sitti
Citations: 348 • 2007
A biomimetic robotic jellyfish (Robojelly) actuated by shape memory alloy composite actuators
Alex Villanueva, Colin Smith, Shashank Priya
Citations: 342 • 2011
NanoSail-D: A solar sail demonstration mission
Les Johnson, Mark Whorton, Andy Heaton, Robin Pinson, Greg Laue, Charles Adams
Citations: 336 • 2010
Space micropropulsion systems for Cubesats and small satellites: From proximate targets to furthermost frontiers
Igor Levchenko, Kateryna Bazaka, Yongjie Ding, Yevgeny Raitses, Stéphane Mazouffre, Torsten Henning, Peter J. Klar, Shunjiro Shinohara, J. Schein, Laurent Garrigues, Minkwan Kim, Dan Lev, F. Taccogna, Rod Boswell, Christine Charles, Hiroyuki Koizumi, Y. R. Shen, Carsten Scharlemann, Michael Keidar, Shuyan Xu
Citations: 330 • 2018
Fish Locomotion: Recent Advances and New Directions
George Lauder
Citations: 305 • 2014
Maneuvering and Stability Performance of a Robotic Tuna
Jamie M. Anderson
Citations: 290 • 2002
Light-Driven Micro/Nanomotor for Promising Biomedical Tools: Principle, Challenge, and Prospect
Jizhuang Wang, Ze Xiong, Jing Zheng, Xiaojun Zhan, Jinyao Tang
Citations: 288 • 2018
Design and Locomotion Control of a Biomimetic Underwater Vehicle With Fin Propulsion
Chunlin Zhou, K. H. Low
Citations: 284 • 2011
Magnetically Propelled Fish‐Like Nanoswimmers
Tianlong Li, Jinxing Li, Hongtao Zhang, Xiaocong Chang, Wenping Song, Yanan Hu, Guangbin Shao, Elodie Sandraz, Guangyu Zhang, Longqiu Li, Joseph Wang
Citations: 267 • 2016
Small‐Scale Machines Driven by External Power Sources
Xiangzhong Chen, Bumjin Jang, Daniel Ahmed, Chengzhi Hu, Carmela De Marco, Marcus Hoop, Fajer Mushtaq, Bradley J. Nelson, Salvador Pané
Citations: 264 • 2018
Reconfiguration, Camouflage, and Color‐Shifting for Bioinspired Adaptive Hydrogel‐Based Millirobots
Xuemin Du, Huanqing Cui, Tiantian Xu, Chenyang Huang, Yunlong Wang, Qilong Zhao, Yangsheng Xu, Xinyu Wu
Citations: 252 • 2020
Hydraulic Autonomous Soft Robotic Fish for 3D Swimming
Robert K. Katzschmann, Andrew D. Marchese, Daniela Rus
Citations: 251 • 2015