A proprioceptive robotic swimmer
Abstract
In the context of fish locomotion, Lighthill proposed in 1971 his elongated body theory to predict the swimming gait. Since his seminal article, the swimming velocity has been related to the fin kinematics (tail-beat amplitude and frequency) through the Strouhal number, which is found to be constant over 6 decades of Reynolds number for natural swimmers. This result can be accounted for by a simple force balance, but the selection mechanism of the fin kinematics is still poorly understood. Here, we propose that the swimming locomotion might be driven by a proprioceptive feedback, which determines the tail-beat amplitude and frequency. A robotic fish has been built to test this mechanism and we will present our last results.
- Publication:
-
APS Division of Fluid Dynamics Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- November 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019APS..DFDL03005A