Robotic Pectoral Fin Thrust Vectoring Using Weighted Gait Combinations

A method was devised to vector propulsion of a robotic pectoral fin by means of actively controlling fin surface curvature. Separate flapping fin gaits were designed to maximize thrust for each of three different thrust vectors: forward, reverse, and lift. By using weighted combinations of these thr...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: John S. Palmisano, Jason D. Geder, Ravi Ramamurti, William C. Sandberg, Banahalli Ratna
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2012-01-01
Series:Applied Bionics and Biomechanics
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/ABB-2012-0064
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Summary:A method was devised to vector propulsion of a robotic pectoral fin by means of actively controlling fin surface curvature. Separate flapping fin gaits were designed to maximize thrust for each of three different thrust vectors: forward, reverse, and lift. By using weighted combinations of these three pre-determined main gaits, new intermediate hybrid gaits for any desired propulsion vector can be created with smooth transitioning between these gaits. This weighted gait combination (WGC) method is applicable to other difficult-to-model actuators. Both 3D unsteady computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and experimental results are presented.
ISSN:1176-2322
1754-2103