Title :
A novel propulsion method of flexible underwater robots
Author :
Shintake, Jun ; Ming, Aiguo ; Shimojo, Makoto
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Mech. Eng. & Intell. Syst., Univ. of Electro-Commun., Chofu, Japan
Abstract :
This paper aims at mobility enhancement of flexible underwater robots. For this purpose, a novel propulsion method utilizing both static and dynamic deformation of a flexible planar structure is proposed. By actuating the planar structure in two dimensions, various propulsive motions can be generated and the realization of various robotic movements can be expected. Two prototypes of such kind of robots with square and circular shape driven by two pieces of piezoelectric fiber composites has been developed. As the experimental results, the movements with multiple DOFs, holonomic and non-holonomic movements have been realized by the robots. The motion mechanism for the movements are discussed by simulation results.
Keywords :
marine propulsion; mobile robots; underwater vehicles; dynamic deformation; flexible planar structure; flexible underwater robots; mobility enhancement; piezoelectric fiber composites; propulsion method; robotic movements; static deformation; Actuators; Laser beams; Measurement by laser beam; Propulsion; Robots; Shape; Vibrations;
Conference_Titel :
Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2011 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on
Conference_Location :
San Francisco, CA
Print_ISBN :
978-1-61284-454-1
DOI :
10.1109/IROS.2011.6094693