MODELLING AND CONTROL OF BIOINSPIRED ROBOTIC FISH UNDERWATER VEHICLE AND ITS PROPULSION MECHANISM

Abstract

THE RESEARCH THESIS INVESTIGATES HOW UNMANNED UNDERWATER VEHICLES (UUVS) OPERATING BASED ON THE LAWS OF PHYSICS CAN MIMIC VERTEBRATE FISH AND DELIVER BETTER LOCOMOTION. MAIN FOCUS IS ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND MANOEUVRABILITY OF THESE SPECIES THAT CAN SUITABLY BE TRANSLATED TO VEHICLE?S PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT. ROBOTIC FISH IS PROPELLED BY AN OSCILLATING, 2- JOINT CAUDAL FIN AND WITH TWO PECTORAL FINS. MAJOR KINEMATIC PARAMETERS OF ROBOTIC FISH ARE CHOSEN BASED ON THE KINEMATICS STUDY OF A CARANGIFORM YELLOW FIN TUNA. A NOVEL DYNAMIC MODEL OF A ROBOTIC FISH UUV HAS BEEN PROPOSED BY UNIFYING CONVENTIONAL RIGID BODY DYNAMICS AND BIO-FLUID-DYNAMICS OF A CARANGIFORM FISH. ACCURACIES OF HYDRODYNAMIC FORCES HAVE BEEN EXAMINED. A CENTRAL PATTERN GENERATOR STRUCTURE IS APPLIED TO GENERATE DESIRED RHYTHMIC PATTERNS PRESERVING CONTROL PROPERTIES. A TWO LEVEL LOCOMOTION CONTROL ARCHITECTURE BASED ON VERTEBRATE FISH BIOLOGY IS IMPLEMENTED AND ITS PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN COMPARED BASED ON THREE DIFFERENT N