Underwater robotic fish based on soft beam high-order vibration driving

Abstract

The application discloses an underwater robotic fish driven by high-order vibration of soft beam, and belongs to the technical field of underwater bionic robotic fish. The underwater robotic fish comprises a machine shell, a rudder, a rudder push rod and a soft coupling fish tail assembly. The rudder is arranged in the machine shell. The output end of the rudder is connected to the rudder push rod, and the rudder push rod is connected to the soft coupling fish tail assembly. The rudder drives the rudder push rod to apply excitation to the soft coupling fish tail assembly so that the soft coupling fish tail assembly generates vibration, thereby enabling the underwater robotic fish to complete forward movement and turning. The fish tail is designed and manufactured by using soft material, and the flexible beam is excited by using the rudder, so that the flexible beam and the soft rubber tail fin generate vibration. The reaction force of water on the fish tail pushes the robotic fish forward during the vibration process. The flexible fish tail is more stable, faster and more in line with the movement of real fish than the rigid fish tail. Moreover, the flexible fish tail occupies a small volume, can pass through narrow water areas, has better movement effect, and can be used for underwater rescue and underwater narrow space exploration.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of underwater bionic robotic fish, and more particularly relates to an underwater robotic fish based on soft beam high-order vibration driving. BACKGROUND

[0002] Underwater robotic fish has been a particularly attractive topic in scientific research. Over the decades, as science has developed, researchers have designed various underwater robotic fish, and the performance of underwater robotic fish has been continuously improved. Existing research shows that underwater robotic fish has the characteristics of shape bionics, can approach fish photography, has small motion noise, and has low energy consumption. Compared with underwater robots on the market, underwater robotic fish can easily cross narrow passages and has strong environmental adaptability. Therefore, underwater robotic fish has become a hot topic in scientific research. Nowadays, people have designed and manufactured many underwater robotic fish.

[0003] In the published or granted patents, in the design of underwater robotic fish, the tail of the robotic fish in the disclosed technical solutions mostly adopts a rigid structure. However, rigid structure driving has limitations (low-order mode, inflexible motion). The introduction of flexible materials can well solve these problems. At the same time, if the entire robotic fish tail adopts flexible materials, noise instability phenomenon is easy to occur, and propulsion cannot be generated. Therefore, it is urgent to design an underwater bionic robotic fish that can fully play the advantages of flexible materials, such as high motion efficiency and strong pressure-bearing capacity, and use rigid materials to maintain the stability of the fish tail. SUMMARY

[0004] In view of the above defects or improvement needs of the prior art, the present application provides an underwater robotic fish based on soft beam high-order vibration driving, thereby solving the technical problems of the prior art, such as inflexible motion, low swimming efficiency, and difficulty in blending into a fish school.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, according to one aspect of the present application, an underwater robotic fish based on soft beam high-order vibration driving is provided, which comprises a machine shell, a rudder, a rudder push rod, and a soft-coupled fish tail assembly. The rudder is arranged inside the machine shell. The output end of the rudder is connected to the rudder push rod, and the rudder push rod is connected to the soft-coupled fish tail assembly. The rudder drives the rudder push rod to exert excitation on the soft-coupled fish tail assembly to make the soft-coupled fish tail assembly vibrate, so as to make the underwater robotic fish complete forward movement and turning.

[0006] Preferably, the soft-coupled fish tail assembly comprises a flexible beam and a soft beam, and the soft beam is connected to one end of the flexible beam.

[0007] Preferably, the flexible beam is an elastic beam body, and the soft beam is a soft rubber beam body. The elastic beam body and the soft rubber beam body are adhesively connected.

[0008] Preferably, the elastic beam body and the soft rubber beam body are connected by waterproof glue.

[0009] Preferably, the machine shell comprises a shell and a back cover, and the back cover is mounted on the shell to form a closed chamber in the machine shell.

[0010] Preferably, the shell is a manta ray shell made by 3D printing.

[0011] Preferably, the machine shell further comprises a main control board and a communication module, and the main control board and the communication module are arranged in the machine shell; the communication module is used for receiving an external instruction signal and transmitting the instruction signal to the main control board; and the main control board is used for controlling the rudder drive rudder push rod to apply an excitation to the soft coupling fish tail assembly and make the soft coupling fish tail assembly vibrate after receiving the instruction signal.

[0012] Preferably, the underwater robot fish has a length of 130 mm.

[0013] Overall, compared with the prior art, the above technical solutions conceived by the present application can achieve the following beneficial effects:

[0014] 1. The underwater robot fish based on soft beam high-order vibration driving provided by the present application drives the robot fish to complete various actions by setting the soft coupling fish tail assembly, making the rudder drive rudder push rod apply an excitation to the soft coupling fish tail assembly to make the soft coupling fish tail assembly vibrate, and then using the reaction force of the water body on the fish tail in the vibration process to drive the robot fish.

[0015] 2. The underwater robot fish based on soft beam high-order vibration driving provided by the present application, wherein the soft coupling fish tail assembly is composed of a flexible beam and a soft beam, so that the robot fish can pass through narrow water areas while being subjected to small water resistance, ensuring that the robot fish can move quickly.

[0016] 3. The underwater robot fish based on soft beam high-order vibration driving provided by the present application, wherein the fish body structure is simulated and designed and optimized and made by 3D printing, the water resistance is minimized under the premise of ensuring work, the assembly is simple, easy to realize, low in cost, and convenient for batch production.

[0017] 4. The underwater robot fish based on soft beam high-order vibration driving provided by the present application, wherein the robot fish has a length of 130 mm, and the experimental surface movement speed is 152 mm / s, i.e. 1.17 BL / s, and the robot fish can normally advance in a flow field with a head-on flow speed lower than 150 mm / s. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] Fig. 1 is a structural schematic view of the underwater robot fish based on soft beam high-order vibration driving of the present application.

[0019] Fig. 2 is a structural side view of the underwater robotic fish based on soft beam high-order vibration driving of the present application;

[0020] Fig. 3 is a speed comparison chart of the underwater robotic fish based on soft beam high-order vibration driving of the present application at different frequencies.

[0021] In all the drawings, the same reference signs are used to represent the same elements or structures, wherein: 1 - shell; 2 - switch; 3 - rear cover; 4 - rudder; 5 - rudder push rod; 6 - soft beam; 7 - flexible beam. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the present application more clear, the present application is further described in detail below in combination with the drawings and examples. It should be understood that the specific examples described herein are only used to explain the present application and do not limit the present application. In addition, the technical features involved in each embodiment of the present application described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0023] As shown in Figs. 1-3 the present application proposes an underwater robotic fish based on soft beam high-order vibration driving, which comprises a shell 1, a switch 2, a rear cover 3, a rudder 4, a rudder push rod 5, a main control board, a communication module, a battery and a soft coupling fish tail assembly.

[0024] Specifically, the rear cover 3 is installed at the tail of the shell 1 to form a shell with a sealed chamber.

[0025] In a preferred embodiment of the present application, the shell 1 is a manta ray shell, which is designed by simulation software and made by 3D printing.

[0026] Further explanation, the main control board, the communication module and the battery are arranged in the shell, the switch is arranged outside the shell, the communication module establishes a transmission channel with the outside signal, and information is transmitted to the main control board for control. The main control board plays a role of signal transceiver, is powered by the battery, and the output signal controls the movement of the rudder 4.

[0027] Further explanation, the soft coupling fish tail assembly of the present application comprises a flexible beam 7 and a soft beam 6 connected end to end.

[0028] As a preferred embodiment of the present application, the flexible beam 7 is an elastic beam body, and the soft beam 6 is a soft glue beam body. The elastic beam body and the soft glue beam body are adhesively connected, and the connection between the two is sealed with waterproof glue.

[0029] The application provides an underwater robot fish driven by high-order vibration of soft beam, which is first bionically shaped and moved, and is modeled by imitating manta ray in shape, and has fish head, fish body, chest fin and tail fin structures of the manta ray, and is small in shape and capable of being integrated into a fish group for close observation; then a main control board is used to control a tail rudder to swing according to a fish body wave equation, and drive the whole to move forward or turn; the application is different from other robot fishes in driving mode, and uses the mode of applying excitation to high order of the soft beam to make it vibrate, and then uses the swing amplitude of the vibration to drive the robot fish to complete various actions.

[0030] Further, the working process of the underwater robot fish is described, which includes the following four stages:

[0031] Stage 1: the main control board receives computer instructions, controls the tail rudder to rotate according to the fish body wave equation, and drives the whole robot fish to move forward;

[0032] Stage 2: when moving forward, the computer sends a signal to command the force frequency applied by the tail rudder to be consistent with the second-order natural frequency of the soft beam, so that the fish tail produces second-order resonance, and the robot fish moves at the maximum speed;

[0033] Stage 3: when turning or encountering obstacles, the operator can issue instructions to the main control board through the computer, so as to control the tail rudder to make the robot fish turn left or right.

[0034] Those skilled in the art can easily understand that the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the application, and is not used to limit the application, and any modification, equivalent replacement and improvement made within the spirit and principle of the application should be included in the protection scope of the application.

Claims

1. An underwater robotic fish based on soft-beam high-order vibration driving, characterized in that, It comprises a casing, a rudder (4), a rudder push rod (5) and a soft coupling fish tail assembly; the rudder (4) is arranged inside the casing; the output end of the rudder (4) is connected to the rudder push rod (5), the rudder push rod (5) is connected to the soft coupling fish tail assembly; the rudder (4) drives the rudder push rod (5) to apply excitation to the soft coupling fish tail assembly to make the soft coupling fish tail assembly vibrate, so as to make the underwater robot fish complete forward movement and turning. The soft coupling fish tail assembly comprises a flexible beam (7) and a soft beam (6), and the soft beam (6) is connected to one end of the flexible beam (7).

2. The underwater robotic fish based on soft-beam high-order vibration driving according to claim 1, characterized in that, The flexible beam (7) is an elastic beam body, and the soft beam (6) is a soft rubber beam body; the elastic beam body and the soft rubber beam body are adhesively connected.

3. The underwater robotic fish based on soft-beam high-order vibration driving according to claim 2, characterized in that, The connection between the elastic beam body and the soft rubber beam body is sealed by waterproof glue.

4. The underwater vehicle based on soft-beam high-order vibration driving according to claim 1, characterized in that, The casing comprises an outer shell (1) and a rear cover (3), and the rear cover (3) is mounted on the outer shell (1) to form a closed chamber in the casing.

5. The underwater robotic fish based on soft-beam high-order vibration driving according to claim 4, characterized in that, The outer shell (1) is a manta ray shell, which is made by 3D printing.

6. The underwater robotic fish based on soft-beam high-order vibration driving according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also comprises a main control board and a communication module, which are arranged in the casing respectively; the communication module is used for receiving external instruction signals and transmitting the instruction signals to the main control board; the main control board is used for receiving the instruction signals and controlling the rudder (4) to drive the rudder push rod (5) to apply excitation to the soft coupling fish tail assembly and make the soft coupling fish tail assembly vibrate.

7. The underwater robotic fish based on soft-beam high-order vibration driving according to claim 1, characterized in that, The length of the underwater robot fish is 130 mm.

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