Modular design of gymnotiform undulating fin

Abstract

In the field of underwater robot, gymnotiform undulating fin inspired a number of research group over the world. A variety of design has been consequently created and developed with the design of multi-actuators. However, this type of design has the remarkable downsides. That is to say, the complex mechanical design and control, the deterioration of motors’ quality should not be underestimated. In this study, a modular design of gymnotiform undulating fin is created in order to avoid the aforementioned problem. This design aims to simplify the mechanism of the fin, reduce the number of actuators and the size of the fin. For this reason, a camshaft is designed to transmit momentum of a motor to all fin-rays in this model.