Underwater Propulsion Mechanism Mimicking Shrimp's Swimming Motions

Abstract

In recent years, seabed exploration has been attracting the attention of scientists and engineers, and underwater robots equipped with screw propellers play an active role in this field. However, they have some problems such as cavitation and damage to marine animals. Therefore, this study aims to imitate the shrimp’s swimming motions and elucidate its paddle-type propulsion mechanism. First of all, dissection and motion analysis of shrimp were carried out to comprehend the features of shrimp. Then, a drag force propulsion model was developed, and simulations was conducted. By conducting extensive simulations, the effectiveness of this model was confirmed.