Development of biomimetic soft underwater robots

-Improvement of propulsion performance by introducing the elastic caudal fin structure with top and bottom bones-

Abstract

We are developing the biomimetic underwater robots using flexible piezoelectric fiber composites. The robots are inspired from structure and swimming shape of fish and can achieve high propulsion performance. To enhance the swimming performance, we introduce elastic caudal fin structure with top and bottom bones in this work. The design of elastic caudal fin and experimental results are reported.