Design and manufacturing a robotic dolphin to increase dynamic performance

Robotic fish and dolphin have been studied to increase their dynamic performance, especially the velocity of a robotic dolphin. There are lots of parameters to increase the velocity of the robotic dolphin such as increasing an oscillating frequency, the area of a caudal fin, or the oscillatory amplitude and so on. The efficient and easy way to increase the thrust is to use a compliant caudal fin. Using the flexible caudal fin, the velocity of the robotic dolphin can increase. Furthermore, using a novel variable stiffness mechanism, the stiffness of the caudal fin can be varied depending on an oscillating frequency to maximize the thrust. We introduce the design and manufacturing of a robotic dolphin which has a variable stiffness mechanism.