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arXiv · 2409.18383

AquaMILR+: Design of an untethered limbless robot for complex aquatic terrain navigation

Matthew Fernandez·Tianyu Wang·Galen Tunnicliffe·Donoven Dortilus·Peter Gunnarson·John O. Dabiri·Daniel I. Goldman
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Abstract

This paper presents AquaMILR+, an untethered limbless robot designed for agile navigation in complex aquatic environments. The robot features a bilateral actuation mechanism that models musculoskeletal actuation in many anguilliform swimming organisms which propagates a moving wave from head to tail allowing open fluid undulatory swimming. This actuation mechanism employs mechanical intelligence, enhancing the robot's maneuverability when interacting with obstacles. AquaMILR+ also includes a compact depth control system inspired by the swim bladder and lung structures of eels and sea snakes. The mechanism, driven by a syringe and telescoping leadscrew, enables depth and pitch control-capabilities that are difficult for most anguilliform swimming robots to achieve. Additional structures, such as fins and a tail, further improve stability and propulsion efficiency. Our tests in both open water and indoor 2D and 3D heterogeneous aquatic environments highlight AquaMILR+'s capabilities and suggest a promising system for complex underwater tasks such as search and rescue and deep-sea exploration.

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Matthew Fernandez, Tianyu Wang, Galen Tunnicliffe, Donoven Dortilus, Peter Gunnarson, John O. Dabiri, Daniel I. Goldman. 2024-09-27. AquaMILR+: Design of an untethered limbless robot for complex aquatic terrain navigation. https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.18383

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