Mechanical design and implementation of a robotic dolphin with 3-DOF flippers

Inspired by the characteristics of high maneuverability and agility of live dolphins, a novel robotic dolphin based on both morphology and locomotion bio-mimicry is developed. The robotic dolphin consists of four main components involving a streamlined head, a turning unit, a dorsoventral undulatory structure, and a tail fluke. The streamlined body in conjunction with a vivid dorsal fin, pectoral fins, and a caudal fin serves for morphology mimicry. Meanwhile, vertical fluke oscillations is designed for dolphin-like movements and a pair of 3-DOF (degree of freedom) flippers for up-and-down motions and braking. In particular, a set of separate turning unit is adopted to fulfil lateral turns. As a new research direction of bio-inspired robots, the dolphin robots with high efficiency, high maneuverability, and low noise will server as a mobile platform for underwater reconnaissance and environmental monitoring.