Development of a new manta robot considering the form drag

Abstract

Biomimetic robots are possible to be used for investigating aquatic lives without affecting them. We have already developed a Manta robot that has propulsion mechanisms with pectoral fins, which are constructed by mimicking the pectoral fin of the manta ray. However, the swimming speed of the conventional Manta robot does not reach to those of many aquatic lives. In this paper, we improve the propulsion performance of such a Manta robot by considering a 3D shape. The propulsion performance of the Manta robot is improved by adopting a streamline shape, which has a less propulsion resistance as the body shape of the robot.