Modeling, Control and Locomotion Planning of an Anguilliform Fish Robot

Abstract

In this thesis, mathematical model, control law design, different locomotion patterns, and locomotion planning are presented for an Anguilliform robotic fish. Considering kinematic constraints, Lagrangian formulation is used to obtain the mathematical model of the robotic fish. Computed torque control and sliding model control are proposed to deal with different scenarios. Three locomotion patterns are investigated by experiments and simulations. Relations among swimming speed, turning radius, and related parameters are also investigated. Based on the relations, a motion library is built, from which the robotic fish can choose suitable parameters to achieve desired speed and turning radius. A new form of central pattern generator (CPG) model is presented, which consists of three-dimensional coupled Andronov-Hopf oscillators, artificial neural network (ANN), and outer amplitude modulator. By using this CPG model, swimming pattern of a real Anguilliform fish is successfully applied to the robotic fish in an experiment.