Development of a biomimetic scallop robot capable of jet propulsion

Abstract

Inspired by a scallop's strong underwater propulsion mechanism, we designed and prototyped a scallop robot capable of clapping and swimming. In this work, an artificial velum was used to work as a check valve to stimulate the robot's swimming. A couple of supporting plates were fixed on the robot shells to achieve the modulation of clapping process of the shells. The scallop robot can move at a maximum average and instantaneous speed of 3.4 and 4.65 body lengths per second, respectively. The effect of the supporting plates, the artificial velum, as well as the clapping frequency and amplitude on the swimming performance of the scallop robot was also experimentally evaluated. By tuning the sizes of the jet apertures, the scallop robot is capable of achieving high mobility actions such as turning. We also obtained the aperture ratio with the corresponding turning radius. This scallop robot provides a new propulsion mechanism in underwater bionic robots; it is also of help to understand the swimming principle of scallops in terms of jet propulsion and clapping motion.

A 5 cm‐Scale Piezoelectric Jetting Agile Underwater Robot

“…The water-jet driving mechanism of marine animals has guided the design of various underwater robots because of its high propulsion efficiency, high agility, and low disturbance. [50,51] The driving force is derived from the self-excited backward jet, formed by the muscle tissue squeezing the fluid in the cavity. To emulate this mechanism on the premise of miniaturization, we employed an antipressure piezoelectric vibrator as an actuator to present two simple jet units (Figure 2a): an axial jet unit and a lateral jet unit.…”

A forgotten element of the blue economy: marine biomimetics and inspiration from the deep sea

“…The fluid mechanics associated with rounded tubercles on the flippers of humpback whales have inspired design both below and above water, most notably in the shape of wind turbines, tidal turbines and even surfboards 62,63,146,147 , while the flexible waving of macroalgae has led to the development of kelp-inspired wave energy generators 148 . The body design and propulsive systems of other marine life have inspired additional libraries of biomimetic design, including the jet propulsion and shape of squids 57,[149][150][151] and other mollusks 152 , the movement of siphonophores 153,154 , and the bell shape and contractions of jellyfish 57,131,149,[155][156][157] . Applications extend from underwater vehicles all the way to the design of robots and spaceships specially adapted to explore other planets with starkly different atmospheric and gravitational conditions 158 .…”

Optimal design and development of a fast steering robot inspired by scallops

“…Among the three types of propulsion, BCF and MPF have been fully studied ( Wang et al, 2018 ). Jet propulsion can be divided into two types according to the number of jet apertures: single-jet and multi-jet aperture propulsion ( Wang et al, 2020 ). The research on jet propulsion is still limited to squid ( Anderson and Grosenbaugh, 2005 ; Bartol et al, 2009a ; Bartol et al, 2009b ; Staaf et al, 2014 ), jellyfish ( Dabiri et al, 2006 ), dragonfly larvae ( Mill and Pickard, 1975 ; Roh and Gharib, 2018 ), and other forms of single-jet aperture propulsion.…”