DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A BIO-INSPIRED UNMANNED UNDERWATER VEHICLE

Abstract

Nature provides inspiration to overcome challenges faced by current UUVs. In particular, manta rays have many features that make them an excellent choice. In this thesis, a bio-inspired UUV based on manta ray was designed and built. Preliminary findings from literature studies on biology and hydrodynamics of manta rays were used to postulate the fin’s key design parameters that can be determinants of thrust generation and propulsive efficiency. An experiment was conducted in a water channel, where the thrust and propulsive efficiency results are used to identify the best fin among the pool of study, and implement it on the developed robotic ray. Subsequently, the developed robotic ray was assessed for its swimming capabilities: swimming stability, speed, and efficiency. The prototype was able to achieve a maximum speed of 2 BL/s at a flapping frequency (f) of 1 Hz and amplitude (A) of 55°, while consuming 1.10 W on average.