This paper describes the development of a new biorobotic platform inspired by the lamprey. Design, fabrication and implemented control are all based on biomechanical and neuroscientific findings on this eel-like fish. The lamprey model has been extensively studied and characterized in recent years because it possesses all basic functions and control mechanisms of higher vertebrates, while at the same time having fewer neurons and simplified neural structures. The untethered robot has a flexible body driven by compliant actuators with proprioceptive feedback. It also has binocular vision for vision-based navigation. The platform has been successfully and extensively experimentally tested in aquatic environments, has high energy efficiency and is ready to be used as investigation tool for high level motor tasks.

The bioinspired approach has been key in combining the disciplines of robotics with neuroscience in an effective and promising fashion. Indeed, certain aspects in the field of neuroscience, such as goal-directed locomotion and behaviour selection, can be validated through robotic artefacts. In particular, swimming is a functionally important behaviour where neuromuscular structures, neural control architecture and operation can be replicated artificially following models from biology and neuroscience. In this article, we present a biomimetic system inspired by the lamprey, an early vertebrate that locomotes using anguilliform swimming. The artefact possesses extra- and proprioceptive sensory receptors, muscle-like actuation, distributed embedded control and a vision system. Experiments on optimised swimming and on goal-directed locomotion are reported, as well as the assessment of the performance of the system, which shows high energy efficiency and adaptive behaviour. While the focus is on providing a robotic platform for testing biological models, the reported system can also be of major relevance for the development of engineering system applications.

International audience— Morphology, perception and locomotion are three key features highly interdependent in robotics. This paper gives an overview of an underwater modular robotic platform equipped with a bio-inspired electric sense. The platform is reconfigurable in the sense that it can split into independent rigid modules and vice-versa. Composed of 9 modules, the longer entity can swim like an eel over long distances, while once detached, each of its modules is efficient for small displacements with a high accuracy. Challenges are to mechanically ensure the morphology changes and to do it automatically. Electric sense is used to guide the modules during docking phases and to navigate in unknown scenes. Several aspects of the design of the robot are described and a particular attention is paid to the inter-module docking system. The feasibility of the design is assessed through experiments

Due to extreme and unpredictable conditions, oceanic missions are still a persistent challenge in robotics. With the aim of improving decision autonomy and robustness against unforeseen circumstances, the EU-funded CoCoRo project is developing a cognitive swarm of underwater robots. Swarm and cognition algorithms will be studied and validated with a large number of miniaturized and affordable AUVs, named Jeff, whose custom mechanical design is described in this paper. Jeff is conceived for high-mobility in 3D cluttered environments and has distributed sensors for multi-directional perception and communication. The propulsion and the buoyancy systems are designed with watertight and energetically efficient solutions to improve system reliability and energetic autonomy. The manuscript also describes the design of a docking system that allows Jeff to passively align and connect to a submerged docking station for battery charging.

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