A novel autonomous, bioinspired swimming robot developed by neuroscientists and bioengineers

Stefanini, Cesare; Orofino, S.; Manfredi, Luigi; Mintchev, Stefano; Marrazza, Stefano; Assaf, Tareq; Capantini, Lorenza; Sinibaldi, Edoardo; Grillner, Sten; Wallén, Peter; Dario, P.

doi:10.1088/1748-3182/7/2/025001

Cited by 75 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…If hydrodynamic forces are harnessed appropriately at the anterior body, a travelling wave is generated passively at the posterior body starting from the body center. This represents a paradigm shift in the field of autonomous robotics locomotion, which traditionally emphasizes the control of the posterior body (Alvarado, 2007;Liu and Hue, 2006;Salumäe and Kruusmaa, 2013;Stefanini et al, 2012). Our results suggest that head control is crucial for steering and improving stability by counterbalancing body rotations and lateral translation.…”

mentioning

confidence: 70%

A kinematic model of Kármán gaiting in rainbow trout

Akanyeti

Liao

2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYA mechanistic understanding of how fishes swim in unsteady flows is challenging despite its prevalence in nature. Previous kinematic studies of fish Kármán gaiting in a vortex street behind a cylinder only report time-averaged measurements, precluding our ability to formally describe motions on a cycle-by-cycle basis. Here we present the first analytical model that describes the swimming kinematics of Kármán gaiting trout with 70-90% accuracy. We found that body bending kinematics can be modelled with a travelling wave equation, which has also been shown to accurately model free-stream swimming kinematics. However, freestream swimming and Kármán gaiting are separated in the parameter space; the amplitude, wavelength and frequency values of the traveling wave equation are substantially different for each behavior. During Kármán gaiting, the wave is initiated at the body center, which is 0.2L (where L is total body length) further down the body compared with the initiation point in free-stream swimming. The wave travels with a constant speed, which is higher than the nominal flow speed just as in free-stream swimming. In addition to undulation, we observed that Kármán gaiting fish also exhibit substantial lateral translations and body rotations, which can constitute up to 75% of the behavior. These motions are periodic and their frequencies also match the vortex shedding frequency. There is an inverse correlation between head angle and body angle: when the body rotates in one direction, the head of the fish turns into the opposite direction. Our kinematic model mathematically describes how fish swim in vortical flows in real time and provides a platform to better understand the effects of flow variations as well as the contribution of muscle activity during corrective motions.

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confidence: 70%

A kinematic model of Kármán gaiting in rainbow trout

Akanyeti

Liao

2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Also related are anguilliform swimming robots such as lamprey/eel robots [19], [20], [8], [9], [21], [22], [23], or lobster robots [24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salamandra Robotica II: An Amphibious Robot to Study Salamander-Like Swimming and Walking Gaits

et al. 2013

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Abstract-In this paper we present Salamandra robotica II, an amphibious salamander robot, that is able to walk and swim. The robot has four legs and an actuated spine that allow it to perform anguilliform swimming in water and walking on ground. The paper first presents the new robot hardware design, which is an improved version of Salamandra robotica I. We then address several questions related to body-limb coordination in robots and animals that have a sprawling posture like salamander and lizards as opposed to the erect posture of mammals (e.g., in cats and dogs). In particular, we investigate how the speed of locomotion and curvature of turning motions depend on various gait parameters such as the body-limb coordination, the type of body undulation (offset, amplitude and phase lag of body oscillations), and the frequency. Comparisons with animal data are presented, and our results show striking similarities with the gaits observed with real salamanders in particular concerning the timing of body's and limbs' movements and the relative speed of locomotion.

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“…Different types of robotic devices have been used in these studies: (i) robotic devices with actuated fins that are attached to a fixed or (externally) moving basis, typically in a flow tank (32); (ii) robotic devices that are self-propelled while being attached to a low-friction rail (Fig. 1A) (1, 35); or (iii) freely moving fish-like robots (2)(3)(4)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40).…”

Section: Swimmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biorobotics: Using robots to emulate and investigate agile locomotion

Ijspeert

2014

Science

404

220

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Abstract:The graceful and agile movements of animals are difficult to analyze and emulate because locomotion is the result of a complex interplay of many components: the central and peripheral nervous systems, the musculoskeletal system, and the environment. The goals of biorobotics are to take inspiration from biological principles to design robots that match the agility of animals, and to use robots as scientific tools to investigate animal adaptive behavior. Used as physical models, biorobots contribute to hypothesis testing in fields such as hydrodynamics, biomechanics, neuroscience, and prosthetics. Their use may contribute to the design of prosthetic devices that more closely take human locomotion principles into account.

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A novel autonomous, bioinspired swimming robot developed by neuroscientists and bioengineers

Cited by 75 publications

References 18 publications

A kinematic model of Kármán gaiting in rainbow trout

A kinematic model of Kármán gaiting in rainbow trout

Salamandra Robotica II: An Amphibious Robot to Study Salamander-Like Swimming and Walking Gaits

Biorobotics: Using robots to emulate and investigate agile locomotion

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