Soft manta ray imitating robot based on film pneumatic driver and driving method

Abstract

The invention discloses a soft manta ray imitating robot based on a film pneumatic driver and a driving method. The soft manta ray-imitating robot comprises a trunk, a manta ray-imitating body and a manta The two pectoral fins are arranged on the two sides of the trunk in the spanwise direction and provided with pneumatic drivers, the pneumatic drivers comprise the first driver and the second driver which are located on the two pectoral fins respectively, each of the first driver and the second driver comprises a driver framework and four pneumatic films, and the pneumatic films are arranged on the two sides of each pectoral fin. Two pneumatic films are arranged on the upper side of the driver framework, the other two pneumatic films are arranged on the lower side of the driver framework, and an air chamber is formed between the two pneumatic films on any side of the driver framework; and the control module communicates with the four air chambers so as to periodically inflate or deflate the four air chambers, and pneumatic flapping of the pneumatic driver is achieved so as to drive the soft manta ray imitating robot to move. According to the soft manta ray imitating robot based on the film pneumatic driver, the motion freedom degree of the soft manta ray imitating robot is large, and the bionic degree is high.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of bionic robots, and more particularly to a soft manta ray robot based on a thin film pneumatic driver and a driving method. BACKGROUND

[0002] Bionics, as a research field developed from the cross and integration of biological science and engineering technology science, has been a popular field of scientific and technological research since the middle of the 20th century. Among them, in the field of the sea, fish has always been the focus of bionics research. Fish has extraordinary movement ability in water, both high propulsion efficiency swimming ability and strong maneuverability in complex water environment. Compared with fish, underwater vehicles with propeller propulsion still have a big gap in propulsion efficiency and maneuverability. Scholars have systematically studied the bionics of fish, analyzed and referred to its movement mechanism, and designed and manufactured bionic robotic fish using machinery, electronics and even new materials to simulate the movement of real fish, providing new design ideas for the optimization of underwater vehicle propulsion principle and the improvement of maneuverability.

[0003] Compared with other fish, the movement mode of manta ray has certain advantages in structure and function: first, as a classic fish of central fin / pair fin propulsion way, manta ray has the advantage of six degrees of freedom movement, high flexibility and strong maneuverability of fish swimming; second, manta ray has the geometric characteristics of flat, wide and symmetrical body, which has stronger stability than other fish with slender body; third, when the movement speed is fast enough, manta ray can even jump out of the water surface to complete a gliding action.

[0004] In related technologies, bionic manta ray robots are mostly designed and manufactured by rigid driving. This kind of manta ray robot mostly uses motor-driven connecting rod or connecting rod group to drive itself to complete flapping or undulating action. However, due to the limitation of rigid structure freedom, this kind of manta ray robot has the disadvantages of low bionics degree and poor movement maneuverability. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, one object of the present application is to provide a soft manta ray robot based on a thin film pneumatic driver, which has more degrees of freedom, higher bionics degree and better movement maneuverability.

[0006] Another object of the present application is to provide a driving method for driving the above-mentioned soft manta ray robot to move.

[0007] The soft manta ray robot based on the thin film pneumatic driver according to the embodiment of the present application comprises a trunk provided with a trunk skeleton, two chest fins provided on the two sides of the trunk along the span direction, and a pneumatic driver provided on each of the two chest fins, wherein the pneumatic driver comprises a first driver and a second driver respectively provided on the two chest fins, each of the first driver and the second driver comprises a driver skeleton and four pneumatic thin films arranged along the up-down direction, both of the driver skeletons are connected with the trunk skeleton, at each of the chest fins, two of the pneumatic thin films are provided on the upper side of the driver skeleton and the other two of the pneumatic thin films are provided on the lower side of the driver skeleton, and a gas chamber is formed between any two of the pneumatic thin films on the upper side or the lower side of the driver skeleton along the up-down direction; and a control module in communication with the four gas chambers of the pneumatic driver to periodically inflate or deflate the four gas chambers, so as to realize the pneumatic flapping of the pneumatic driver to drive the soft manta ray robot to move, wherein the movement at least comprises advancing, turning, ascending and diving.

[0008] The soft manta ray robot based on the thin film pneumatic driver according to the embodiment of the present application can adjust the inflation amount in each gas chamber through the inflation and deflation operation of the control module on each gas chamber to drive the soft manta ray robot to move, and the soft manta ray robot has more degrees of freedom, higher bionics and better movement maneuverability.

[0009] In addition, the soft manta ray robot according to the above embodiment of the present application can further have the following additional technical features:

[0010] According to some embodiments of the present application, the pneumatic driver is provided with four air inlets in one-to-one correspondence with the four gas chambers, the air inlets are located at the rear end of the pneumatic driver and are in communication with the control module, a plurality of air passages are provided in the gas chambers and extend along the advancing direction of the soft manta ray robot.

[0011] According to some embodiments of the present application, the chest fin is provided with the pneumatic driver and a flexible fin surface connected therewith, the pneumatic driver is located at the front side of the flexible fin surface, and the pneumatic flapping of the pneumatic driver drives the flexible fin surface to flexibly fluctuate to drive the soft manta ray robot to move.

[0012] According to some embodiments of the present application, in the advancing direction, the maximum size of the chest fin is L1, the maximum size of the driver skeleton is L2, and the maximum size of the flexible fin surface is L3, L2+L3=L1, L2

[0013] According to some embodiments of the present application, the soft manta ray robot has a plurality of membranes connected in sequence along the up-down direction, and the plurality of membranes includes a first membrane, a middle portion of the first membrane covers the trunk skeleton, two side portions of the first membrane cover the two pectoral fins, and the two side portions of the first membrane include an area covering the driver skeleton and an area forming the flexible fin surface.

[0014] According to some embodiments of the present application, the plurality of membranes further includes a second membrane and two third membranes, a middle portion of the second membrane covers a portion of the trunk skeleton, two side portions of the second membrane cover the driver skeleton, and a middle portion of the third membrane covers the trunk skeleton, two side portions of the third membrane cover the driver skeleton.

[0015] The soft manta ray robot includes a support structure including the trunk skeleton and the two driver skeletons connected in sequence, the first membrane and the second membrane are located on the upper side of the support structure, the second membrane is located on the upper side of the first membrane, and the two third membranes are located on the lower side of the support structure.

[0016] According to some embodiments of the present application, the adjacent membranes are thermoplasticly connected and are adapted to form the air chamber.

[0017] According to some embodiments of the present application, the soft manta ray robot includes a support structure including the trunk skeleton and the two driver skeletons connected in sequence, and the support structure is provided with a plurality of hollow portions, the hollow portions are long strip-shaped holes penetrating the support structure along the up-down direction, and the membranes located on both sides of the hollow portions along the up-down direction are thermoplasticly connected through the hollow portions.

[0018] According to some embodiments of the present application, the soft manta ray robot includes a support structure and a counterweight, the support structure includes the trunk skeleton and the two driver skeletons connected in sequence, and the counterweight is arranged on the support structure, so that the density of the soft manta ray robot is greater than the density of water.

[0019] The driving method according to the embodiment of the application is used for driving the soft manta ray robot based on the thin film pneumatic driver according to the embodiment of the application, a first driver is located at the left side of a second driver, the first driver comprises a left upper air chamber and a left lower air chamber arranged in the up-down direction, the second driver comprises a right upper air chamber and a right lower air chamber arranged in the up-down direction, in the state that the gas volume V1 of the gas in the air chamber is equal to the predetermined gas volume V2, the air chamber is in the full gas state; in the state that 0V1V2, the air chamber is in the partial gas state; in the state that V1=0, the air chamber is in the deflated state, the driving method comprises: the control module periodically inflates or deflates the four air chambers in multiple periods to make the air chambers be in the full gas state, the deflated state or the partial gas state, and drive the soft manta ray robot to move, the movement of the soft manta ray robot in each period is as follows, each period is recorded as T, in 0-0.5T, the control module makes the left upper air chamber and the right upper air chamber be in the full gas state, the left lower air chamber and the right lower air chamber be in the deflated state, and the first driver and the second driver flap upwards; in 0.5T-T, the control module makes the left upper air chamber and the right upper air chamber be in the deflated state, the left lower air chamber and the right lower air chamber be in the full gas state, and the first driver and the second driver flap downwards; the above actions drive the soft manta ray robot to generate the first forward movement of the up-down symmetric flapping; or, in 0-0.45T, the control module makes the left upper air chamber and the right upper air chamber be in the full gas state, the left lower air chamber and the right lower air chamber be in the deflated state, and the first driver and the second driver flap upwards; in 0.45T-0.9T, the control module makes the left upper air chamber and the right upper air chamber be in the deflated state, the left lower air chamber and the right lower air chamber be in the full gas state, and the first driver and the second driver flap downwards; in 0.9T-T, the control module makes the four air chambers all be in the deflated state, and the first driver and the second driver are horizontal; the above actions drive the soft manta ray robot to generate the second forward movement of the up-down symmetric flapping and sliding in sequence in the period; or, in 0-0.5T, the control module makes the left upper air chamber and the right upper air chamber be in the partial gas state, the left lower air chamber and the right lower air chamber be in the deflated state, and the first driver and the second driver flap upwards and the bending angle is smaller than that in the full gas state; in 0.5T~T, the control module makes the left upper air chamber and the right upper air chamber in the deflated state, the left lower air chamber and the right lower air chamber in the inflated state, and the first driver and the second driver flap downward; the above actions drive the soft mimesis manta ray robot to perform a third forward motion of up-down asymmetric flapping; or, in 0~0.5T, the control module makes the four air chambers in the deflated state, and the first driver and the second driver are horizontal; in 0.5T~T, the control module makes the left upper air chamber and the right upper air chamber in the deflated state, the left lower air chamber and the right lower air chamber in the inflated state, and the first driver and the second driver flap downward; the above actions drive the soft mimesis manta ray robot to perform a fourth forward motion of downward flapping; or, in 0~0.5T, the control module makes the left upper air chamber in the deflated state, the left lower air chamber, the right upper air chamber and the right lower air chamber in the inflated state, the first driver flaps downward, and the second driver is horizontal; in 0.5T~T, the control module makes the four air chambers in the deflated state, and the first driver and the second driver are horizontal; the above actions drive the soft mimesis manta ray robot to perform a turning motion of right turning; or, in 0~0.5T, the control module makes the right upper air chamber in the deflated state, the left upper air chamber, the left lower air chamber and the right lower air chamber in the inflated state, the first driver is horizontal, and the second driver flaps downward; in 0.5T~T, the control module makes the four air chambers in the deflated state, and the first driver and the second driver are horizontal; the above actions drive the soft mimesis manta ray robot to perform a turning motion of left turning; or, the control module inflates the four air chambers, makes the four air chambers in the inflated state, the first driver and the second driver are horizontal, and drives the soft mimesis manta ray robot to perform an ascending motion; or, the control module deflates the four air chambers, makes the four air chambers in the deflated state, and the first driver and the second driver are horizontal, and drives the soft mimesis manta ray robot to perform a diving motion.

[0020] Additional aspects and advantages of the present application will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present application will become apparent and be readily appreciated from the following description, including the appended drawings.

[0022] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a soft mimesis manta ray robot according to a first embodiment of the present application, wherein a control module is not shown;

[0023] Figure 2 is a perspective view of a soft manta ray robot according to a second embodiment of the present application, wherein the control module is not shown;

[0024] Figure 3 is a perspective view of a soft manta ray robot according to a third embodiment of the present application, wherein the control module and the lowermost third membrane are not shown;

[0025] Figure 4 is a schematic view of the cooperation structure of the control module and the air port according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 5 is Figure 3 is a partial enlarged view of the circle A in

[0027] Figure 6 is Figure 3 is a top view of

[0028] Figure 7 is a top view of the first membrane according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 8 is a top view of the second membrane according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 9 is a top view of the third membrane according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 10 is a top view of the support structure according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 11 is an exploded view of the support structure and the two third membranes under the support structure according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 12 is a schematic view of the control program of the control module according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0034] Reference signs:

[0035] soft manta ray robot 100;

[0036] torso 10; torso skeleton 11;

[0037] pectoral fin 20; pneumatic driver 21; driver skeleton 211; pneumatic membrane 212; air chamber 213; air duct 214; air port 215; first driver 22; second driver 23; flexible fin surface 24;

[0038] control module 30; control source electrical equipment 31; flexible hose 32;

[0039] Thin film 40; first thin film 41; second thin film 42; third thin film 43; middle portion 401; both side portions 402;

[0040] Support structure 50; hollowed portion 51;

[0041] Thermoplastic path 60;

[0042] Spanwise direction F1; up-and-down direction F2; forward direction F3; axis of symmetry N1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] Embodiments of the present application are described below in detail with reference to examples thereof that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like or similar elements are denoted by like or similar reference numerals throughout the drawings. The embodiments described below are exemplary only, and are not to be understood as limiting the present application.

[0044] In the description of the present application, it is to be understood that the orientations or positional relationships indicated by the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are merely for the purpose of facilitating the description of the present application and simplifying the description, and therefore cannot be understood as indicating or implying that the devices or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present application.

[0045] In the description of the present application, "first feature" and "second feature" can include one or more of the features, the meaning of "a plurality of" is two or more, and "above" or "below" of the first feature with respect to the second feature can include that the first and second features are in direct contact, or can include that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact through another feature therebetween, and "above", "over" and "on" of the first feature with respect to the second feature include that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature.

[0046] The rapid development of soft robot technology provides more mature and feasible new ideas for the flexible driving design of robotic fish. Compared with traditional rigid robots, soft robots can achieve more degrees of freedom and higher mobility. The driving methods of soft robots mainly include fluid driving, dielectric elastomers, shape memory materials, magnetic driving, ion exchange polymer metal composite materials, etc. The underwater working conditions are complex, often with flow disturbance, low visibility, and many obstacles, and the complex working environment requires the robotic fish to have high mobility and flexible and diverse functions. The above-mentioned flexible driving technologies open up a broader application prospect for the motion design and diverse function loading of robotic fish.

[0047] Therefore, the application provides a soft manta ray robot based on a thin film pneumatic driver. The soft manta ray robot based on the thin film pneumatic driver can achieve stable, efficient and highly maneuverable motion similar to a manta ray underwater, which is beneficial to further create a solid foundation for the function of the robot.

[0048] The soft manta ray robot 100 based on the thin film pneumatic driver according to the embodiment of the application is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0049] Referring to Figures 1-11 Fig. 1, the soft manta ray robot 100 based on the thin film pneumatic driver according to the embodiment of the application can include a torso 10, two pectoral fins 20 and a control module 30.

[0050] The torso 10 is provided with a torso skeleton 11, which has a certain hardness so that the torso 10 is not easy to curl and deform, for example, the material of the torso skeleton 11 is PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Of course, the torso 10 can also be provided with other components.

[0051] The two pectoral fins 20 are arranged on both sides of the torso 10 along a spanwise direction F1, which is the arrangement direction of the two pectoral fins 20, for example, the spanwise direction F1 is the left-right direction as shown in Figures 1-3 It should be noted that in the present application, the spanwise direction F1, the up-down direction F2 and the forward direction F3 are perpendicular to each other and are based on the soft manta ray robot 100, and the description of the up-down, front-back and left-right directions is based on the orientation marked in the state shown in the drawings.

[0052] The two pectoral fins 20 are provided with pneumatic drivers 21, which include first drivers 22 and second drivers 23 located on the two pectoral fins 20, respectively. For example Figures 1-3 As shown in

[0053] The first and second actuators 22, 23 each include an actuator skeleton 211 and four pneumatic membranes 212 arranged vertically. The actuator skeleton 211 has a certain rigidity, preventing the first and second actuators 22, 23 from curling or deforming. For example, the actuator skeleton 211 is made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Both actuator skeletons 211 are connected to the trunk skeleton 11, making the entire manta ray-like soft robot 100 less prone to curling or deformation, thereby improving the manta ray-like soft robot's stability in water.

[0054] On each pectoral fin 20, two pneumatic membranes 212 are located above the actuator skeleton 211, and two more pneumatic membranes 212 are located below the actuator skeleton 211. An air chamber 213 is formed between the two pneumatic membranes 212 on either side of the actuator skeleton 211 in the vertical direction. This results in one air chamber 213 on the upper side and one air chamber 213 on the lower side of the actuator skeleton 211 for each pectoral fin 20, resulting in four air chambers 213 for the entire manta ray-like soft robot 100.

[0055] For example, in some embodiments, Figures 1-3 As shown, the first driver 22 is located on the left side of the second driver 23. The first driver 22 includes an upper left air chamber 213 and a lower left air chamber 213 arranged along the up-down direction F2. The second driver 23 includes an upper right air chamber 213 and a lower right air chamber 213 arranged along the up-down direction F2.

[0056] The pneumatic film 212 is deformable so that it can deform during the process of inflating or deflating the air chamber 213, thereby bending the pneumatic actuator 21. For example, the material of the pneumatic film 212 is TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer).

[0057] The control module 30 is respectively connected to the four air chambers 213 of the pneumatic driver 21 to periodically inflate or deflate the four air chambers 213, thereby achieving pneumatic flapping of the pneumatic driver 21 to drive the soft manta ray robot 100 to move, and the movement includes at least forward, turning, ascending and diving.

[0058] For example Figures 1-4 As shown, the control module 30 includes a control source electrical device 31 and a flexible hose 32. The control source electrical device 31 includes a control component, an air source, a valve body, and an air pump. The control source electrical device 31 is connected to the air chamber 213 through the flexible hose 32. The control source electrical device 31 can inflate or deflate the air chamber 213 through the flexible hose 32. By adjusting the length of the flexible hose 32, the range of motion of the soft manta ray-like robot 100 can be adjusted.

[0059] By inflating or deflating each air chamber 213 through the control module 30, the amount of inflation, the amount of deflation, the inflation rate, etc. of each air chamber 213 can be controlled to adjust the action form of the pneumatic driver 21 at each pectoral fin 20, such as flapping upward, flapping downward, keeping horizontal, etc., to further drive the soft body manta ray robot 100 to move.

[0060] Specifically, at each pectoral fin 20, by inflating the upper air chamber 213 and deflating the lower air chamber 213 through the control module 30, the two pneumatic membranes 212 forming the upper air chamber 213 are deformed to expand, and the driver skeleton 211 is also bent upward under the driving of the pneumatic membranes 212, so that the pneumatic driver 21 at the pectoral fin 20 is bent upward to make the pectoral fin 20 flap upward. When the pectoral fin 20 flaps, it interacts with water, and the resultant force provides thrust to the soft body manta ray robot 100 to simulate the real movement of a manta ray. For example, after the pneumatic driver 21 is bent upward, the pectoral fin 20 flaps upward, and the angle between the pectoral fin 20 and the trunk 10 changes from 0° to 8°, 18° or other angles. Controlling the amount of inflation of the air chamber 213 can control the bending degree of the pneumatic driver 21 at the pectoral fin 20, for example, under the premise of not damaging the pneumatic driver 21, the amount of inflation in the air chamber 213 is maximized to make the pneumatic driver 21 at the pectoral fin 20 bend to the maximum extent, and reducing the amount of inflation in the air chamber 213 can reduce the bending degree of the pneumatic driver 21 at the pectoral fin 20 until the pneumatic driver 21 keeps horizontal.

[0061] Similarly, by deflating the upper air chamber 213 and inflating the lower air chamber 213 through the control module 30, the pneumatic driver 21 at the pectoral fin 20 can be made to flap downward to make the pectoral fin 20 flap downward. By inflating or deflating the upper air chamber 213 and the lower air chamber 213 at the same time through the control module 30, the pneumatic driver 21 at the pectoral fin 20 can be kept horizontal to make the pectoral fin 20 keep horizontal.

[0062] By controlling the amount of inflation in each air chamber 213 through the control module 30 to control the state of the two pectoral fins 20, the soft body manta ray robot 100 can be made to move forward, turn, ascend, dive, etc. By increasing or reducing the weight of the trunk skeleton 11, adding a counterweight to the trunk skeleton 11, etc., the density of the soft body manta ray robot 100 in water is slightly greater than the density of water, so that the weight of the soft body manta ray robot 100 can be increased.

[0063] For example, the soft manta ray robot 100 can realize diving motion under the action of gravity by controlling the air volume in the four air chambers 213 to be 0 through the control module 30. The soft manta ray robot 100 can realize rising motion under the action of buoyancy by controlling the air volume in the four air chambers 213 to reach the maximum air volume that does not cause damage to the pneumatic driver 21 through the control module 30. The soft manta ray robot 100 can realize forward motion by controlling the inflation and deflation states of the four air chambers 213 through the control module 30, so that the two pectoral fins 20 are cyclically flapped upward, downward, upward, and so on. The soft manta ray robot 100 can realize turning motion to the right by controlling the inflation and deflation states of the four air chambers 213 through the control module 30, so that the left pectoral fin 20 of the soft manta ray robot 100 is cyclically flapped upward, downward, upward, and so on, and the right pectoral fin 20 is in a horizontal state.

[0064] The air chamber 213 is formed by the adjacent pneumatic membrane 212, so that the pneumatic membrane 212 is first affected during the change of the inflation and deflation state of the air chamber 213. The pneumatic membrane 212 is more prone to deformation than the driver skeleton 211, and the required deformation intensity is smaller, so as to facilitate reducing the inflation difficulty of the air chamber 213 to expand, and facilitating making the flapping amplitude of the soft manta ray robot 100 more controllable, the angle range of the pectoral fin 20 flapping larger, and facilitating improving the bionics degree of the real manta ray.

[0065] In the present application, the two pectoral fins 20 of the soft manta ray robot 100 can be flapped upward and downward respectively by the pneumatic driver 21 at the two pectoral fins 20, which has good bionic effect and high bionic degree. Compared with the traditional manta ray robot fish design, the soft manta ray robot 100 of the present application is more objective and closer to the real motion mechanism of the manta ray, has more degrees of freedom, higher bionic degree, and better motion maneuverability.

[0066] The hardness of the trunk skeleton 11 and the driver skeleton 211 is higher than that of the pneumatic membrane 212, so that the trunk skeleton 11 and the driver skeleton 211 can be used to bionically simulate the skeleton of the real manta ray. The trunk skeleton 11 and the driver skeleton 211 can not only improve the rigidity of the soft manta ray robot 100, so that the pectoral fin 20 is not easily affected by the water flow during the complete deformation process, but also can complete the expected action with high quality. The trunk skeleton 11 and the driver skeleton 21 can also control the deformation degree of the soft manta ray robot 100, so that the deformation of the soft manta ray robot 100 is more controllable, and the bionic degree of the real manta ray is higher.

[0067] In addition, the present application drives the soft manta ray robot 100 to move by inflating or deflating the air chamber 213, does not need to embed an electric motor in the underwater part of the soft manta ray robot 100, has low working noise, and is not easy to cause noise interference to the underwater environment.

[0068] The soft manta ray robot 100 according to the embodiment of the present application can adjust the inflation amount in each air chamber 213 by the inflation and deflation operation of each air chamber 213 by the control module 30, so as to drive the soft manta ray robot 100 to move, and the soft manta ray robot 100 has more degrees of freedom, higher bionics and better maneuverability.

[0069] The embodiment of the present application can improve the transparency of the underwater part structure of the trunk 10, the pectoral fin 20 and the control module 30, so as to improve the concealment of the soft manta ray robot 100 in water, and facilitate the underwater task with concealment requirement.

[0070] In some embodiments, the thickness of the trunk skeleton 11 and the driver skeleton 211 is 0.4 mm, and the thickness of the pneumatic membrane 212 is 0.2 mm, so that the maximum thickness of the soft manta ray robot 100 under normal condition is only 1.2 mm, the thickness of the soft manta ray robot 100 under normal condition can be controlled within 1.5 mm, the soft manta ray robot 100 under normal condition is approximately a planar two-dimensional structure, the soft manta ray robot 100 can have the geometric characteristics of flatness and largeness, so as to facilitate reducing the resistance of the soft manta ray robot 100 in water and improving the motion stability. Here, the normal condition refers to the state that the soft manta ray robot 100 is completely unfolded and not moving, for example Figures 1-3 the state of the soft manta ray robot 100 shown in the figure.

[0071] The air chamber 213 can be formed by thermoplastic connection, bonding or the like of the adjacent pneumatic membranes 212 along a specific path. For example Figures 1-3 and Figures 4-6 The adjacent pneumatic membranes 212 are thermoplasticly connected along the thermoplastic path 60, so as to form the air chamber 213 between the adjacent two pneumatic membranes 212.

[0072] In some embodiments of the present application, as shown in Figures 1-3 and Figures 5-6 The pneumatic driver 21 is provided with four air inlets 215 corresponding to the four air chambers 213 in one-to-one correspondence, the air inlets 215 are communicated with the control module 30, so that the control module 30 can inflate or deflate the four air chambers 213 through the four air inlets 215 respectively. For example, the rear side of the four air chambers 213 is respectively provided with one air inlet 215.

[0073] The air inlets 215 are located at the rear end of the pneumatic driver 21, and the rear end here refers to the rear end along the forward direction F3 of the soft manta ray robot 100, so that the soft manta ray robot 100 is not easily interfered by the connection structure such as the flexible hose 32 between the control module 30 and the air inlets 215 during the movement, so that the movement of the soft manta ray robot 100 is smoother.

[0074] The air chamber 213 is provided with a plurality of air passages 214 in communication, and the air passages 214 extend along the forward direction F3 of the soft manta ray robot 100. The plurality of air passages 214 can be in communication at the end of the air passage 214, or in communication at the middle of the air passage 214, and can be directly communicated or indirectly communicated, so that the different air passages 214 of the entire air chamber 213 are in communication. For example, in some embodiments, as shown in Figures 1-3 and Figures 5-6 Each of the four air chambers 213 is provided with a plurality of air passages 214 extending along the front-rear direction, and adjacent air passages 214 of the plurality of air passages 214 in each air chamber 213 are directly communicated at the front-rear ends.

[0075] Controlling the inflation and deflation of each air chamber 213 can make the soft manta ray robot 100 advance, turn, ascend or dive, etc. The air chamber 213 is provided with a plurality of air passages 214 extending along the forward direction F3 in communication, so as to guide the fluctuation in the movement of the pectoral fin 20 through the air passage 214, facilitate the pectoral fin 20 of the soft manta ray robot 100 to fluctuate similarly to the pectoral fin of a real manta ray, and facilitate the control of the fluctuation amplitude of the pectoral fin 20, so that the movement stability of the soft manta ray robot 100 is higher, the bionics degree of the soft manta ray robot 100 can be increased, and the movement efficiency of the soft manta ray robot 100 is improved.

[0076] For example, in some embodiments, as shown in Figures 1-3 Through the plurality of air passages 214 extending along the front-rear direction of the upper left air chamber 213 and the lower left air chamber 213, the first driver 22 on the left side can be divided into a plurality of parts extending along the front-rear direction in the left-right direction, and each part moves upward or downward independently to realize the fluctuation of the first driver 22 along the spanwise F2.

[0077] In some embodiments of the present application, as shown in Figure 1 The pneumatic driver 21 can be distributed throughout the pectoral fin 20, so that the air chamber 213 is distributed throughout the pectoral fin 20, and full-fin surface driving is realized to propel the robot to advance.

[0078] In other embodiments, as shown in Figures 2-3 and Figures 5-7 The pectoral fin 20 is provided with a pneumatic driver 21 and a flexible fin surface 24 connected together, the pneumatic driver 21 is located on the front side of the flexible fin surface 24, and the pneumatic driver 21 generates pneumatic flapping to drive the flexible fin surface 24 to generate flexible fluctuation to drive the soft manta ray robot 100 to move. The pneumatic driver 21 can generate pneumatic flapping along the spanwise F2, and the flexible fin surface 24 can generate flexible fluctuation along the flow direction.

[0079] The each pectoral fin 20 comprises a pneumatic driver 21 located at the front side and a flexible fin surface 24 located at the rear side, the front side of the pectoral fin 20 is actively driven to flap by the pneumatic driver 21, and the flexible fin surface 24 at the rear side of the pectoral fin 20 is driven to undulate, so that semi-fin surface driving can be realized, active-passive hybrid driving can be realized, and the stability of the soft manta ray robot 100 in forward movement, turning, ascending, diving and other movements can be improved, and the soft manta ray robot 100 has better bionic movement effect on the real manta ray.

[0080] In some embodiments, as shown in the forward direction F3, the maximum size of the pectoral fin 20 is L1, the maximum size of the driver skeleton 211 is L2, and the maximum size of the flexible fin surface 24 is L3, L2+L3=L1, L2 Figure 6 L3>L1 / 2. A small part of the pectoral fin 20 along the forward direction F3 is covered by the pneumatic driver 21, and the other large part is covered by the flexible fin surface 24. The passive driving part of the pectoral fin 20 can be designed by designing the shape and size of the flexible fin surface 24, so as to adjust the distribution position and proportion of active driving and passive driving, and facilitate debugging to obtain the most consistent data with the real manta ray, and improve the propulsion efficiency of the soft manta ray robot 100.

[0081] The flexible fin surface 24 is formed by a thin film 40, and too many thin films 40 forming the flexible fin surface 24 will cause water between adjacent two thin films 40, so that the passive driving movement of the flexible fin surface 24 is unstable. In some embodiments of the present application, as shown in Figures 2-3 and Figures 5-7 The soft manta ray robot 100 has a plurality of thin films 40 connected in sequence along the up-down direction F2, the plurality of thin films 40 comprises a first thin film 41, the middle part 401 of the first thin film 41 covers the trunk skeleton 11, and the two side parts 402 cover the two pectoral fins 20, the two side parts 402 of the first thin film 41 comprises an area covering the driver skeleton 211 and an area forming the flexible fin surface 24.

[0082] Through the first thin film 41, the passive driving part of the pectoral fin 20, i.e. the flexible fin surface 24, is formed by one thin film 40, the undulation stability between the single thin film 40 and the water body is better, the disturbance on the flexible fin surface 24 is less, the movement of the flexible fin surface 24 is more stable, and the movement stability of the soft manta ray robot 100 is improved.

[0083] In some embodiments, as shown in Figures 2-3 and Figures 5-11As shown, the plurality of membranes 40 further comprises a second membrane 42 and two third membranes 43, the middle portion 401 of the second membrane 42 covers a part of the trunk skeleton 11, the two side portions 402 cover the driver skeletons 211, the middle portion 401 of the third membrane 43 covers the trunk skeleton 11, and the two side portions 402 cover the driver skeletons 211. The soft manta ray robot 100 comprises a support structure 50, the support structure 50 comprises the trunk skeleton 11 and the two driver skeletons 211 connected together, the first membrane 41 and the second membrane 42 are located on the upper side of the support structure 50, the second membrane 42 is located on the upper side of the first membrane 41, and the two third membranes 43 are located on the lower side of the support structure 50.

[0084] That is, the underwater part of the soft manta ray robot 100 comprises the second membrane 42, the first membrane 41, the support structure 50, the third membrane 43, and the third membrane 43 stacked in sequence from top to bottom, so that the trunk 10 comprises the middle portion 401 of the second membrane 42, the middle portion 401 of the first membrane 41, the trunk skeleton 11, the middle portion 401 of the third membrane 43, and the middle portion 401 of the third membrane 43 stacked in sequence from top to bottom, and the pectoral fin 20 comprises the two side portions 402 of the second membrane 42, the two side portions 402 of the first membrane 41, the driver skeleton 211, the two side portions 402 of the third membrane 43, and the two side portions 402 of the third membrane 43 stacked in sequence from top to bottom. At the pectoral fin 20, the front side of the two side portions 402 of the first membrane 41, the two side portions 402 of the second membrane 42, and the two side portions 402 of the third membrane 43 form the pneumatic membrane 212 of the pneumatic driver 21, and the rear side of the two side portions 402 of the first membrane 41 forms the flexible fin surface 24.

[0085] The first membrane 41, the second membrane 42, and the third membrane 43 can all cover the driver skeleton 211, and can be connected with adjacent first membranes 41 and third membranes 43 outside the driver skeleton 211, so that the driver skeleton 211 is wrapped between adjacent membranes 40, and a large amount of water is not easy to enter between the driver skeleton 211 and the adjacent membranes 40 to affect the deformation of the pneumatic driver 40, which is beneficial to improve the controllability of the pneumatic beating of the pneumatic driver 40, so as to control the movement of the soft manta ray robot 100 and improve the movement stability of the soft manta ray robot 100.

[0086] The support structure 50 can improve the overall stiffness of the soft manta ray robot 100, so that the soft manta ray robot 100 is not easy to curl and deform in water, which is beneficial to control the bending deformation of the pneumatic driver 21 in the soft manta ray robot 100 to generate pneumatic beating, and drive the flexible fin surface 24 to generate flexible fluctuation, and improve the bionic movement effect of the soft manta ray robot 100.

[0087] In addition, the first film 41 and the second film 42 are both located on the upper side of the support structure 50, and the second film 42 is located on the upper side of the first film 41, so that the flexible hose 32 or the like structure can be arranged at the air vent 215 of the air chamber 213 on the upper side of the first film 42 to connect the control source electrical equipment 31 of the control module 30, the interference of the flexible hose 32 on the flexible fin surface 24 of the first film 41 can be reduced, and the flexible undulating effect of the soft manta ray robot 100 is better.

[0088] The shape of the soft manta ray robot 100 can be adjusted to change the motion parameters of the soft manta ray robot 100, so as to approximate the motion performance of the real manta ray. For example, in some embodiments of the present application, as shown in Figure 2 , the front end of the soft manta ray robot 100 is a plane extending along the spanwise F2, realizing a flat leading edge fin.

[0089] For another example, in some embodiments, as shown in Figure 3 and Figures 5-6 , the front end of the soft manta ray robot 100 is a shape protruding from the left and right ends to the middle and forward, the projection of the soft manta ray robot 100 on the up-down direction F2 is an axisymmetric shape with the spanwise F1 dimension greater than the forward direction F3 dimension, the symmetry axis N1 is parallel to the forward direction F3, so that the shape of the soft manta ray robot 100 is similar to that of the real manta ray, realizing a slant leading edge fin. After multiple rounds of debugging, the soft manta ray robot 100 is designed as a slant leading edge fin, which is beneficial to reduce the flow resistance of the soft manta ray robot 100 in water and improve the motion stability of the soft manta ray robot 100. For example, the soft manta ray robot 100 is substantially axisymmetric in the spanwise F2, the front end is chamfered and rounded, forming a streamlined shape, which is beneficial to reduce the resistance in the water environment.

[0090] In some embodiments, as shown in Figures 1-3 and Figure 6 , the rear end of the support structure 50 is extended to form a tail-shaped structure, which plays a role of balancing the weight and stabilizing the motion of the soft manta ray robot 100.

[0091] In some embodiments of the present application, as shown in Figures 1-3 and Figures 5-6 , the adjacent films 40 are thermoplastically connected and can form air chambers 213. That is, the adjacent films 40 are connected by thermoplastic connection, which is simple to operate and firm in connection. The thermoplastic connection can also form air chambers 213, for example, according to Figures 1-3 and Figures 5-6 , the adjacent two films 40 are thermoplastically connected by a thermoplastic path 60, which can form an air passage 214 between the adjacent thermoplastic paths 60, thereby forming an air chamber 213.

[0092] The thin film 40 is connected by means of thermal plastic connection, which can improve the connection firmness, simplify the connection difficulty, form the air chamber 213, and combine the steps of connecting the adjacent thin films 40 and forming the air chamber 213 between the adjacent thin films 40 into one step, thereby facilitating the simplification of the manufacturing process of the soft manta ray robot 100.

[0093] In some embodiments of the present application, as shown in Figures 1-3 、 Figure 6 and Figures 10-11 , the soft manta ray robot 100 comprises a support structure 50, which comprises a connected trunk skeleton 11 and two driver skeletons 211. The support structure 50 is provided with a plurality of hollow parts 51, which are long strip-shaped holes penetrating the support structure 50 along the up-down direction F2, and the thin films 40 located on both sides of the hollow part 51 along the up-down direction F2 are thermally connected through the hollow part 51.

[0094] Through the hollow part 51, the thin films 40 on both sides of the hollow part 51 can be thermally connected at the hollow part 51, and the support structure 50 can be limited between the two thin films 40 to reduce the possibility of movement of the support structure 50 relative to the thin films 40 during the movement of the soft manta ray robot 100, thereby facilitating the improvement of the movement stability of the soft manta ray robot 100 and the improvement of the bionics of the soft manta ray robot 100. Moreover, the hollow part 51 is a long strip-shaped hole, which facilitates the increase of the thermal plastic connection area to improve the connection strength of the adjacent thin films 40.

[0095] In some embodiments, as shown in Figures 1-3 、 Figure 6 and Figures 10-11 , the front end and the middle part of the trunk skeleton 11 are each provided with a plurality of hollow parts 51, and the first thin film 41 on the upper side of the trunk skeleton 11 and the third thin film 43 on the lower side can be thermally connected at the hollow part 51.

[0096] In some embodiments, as shown in Figures 1-3 and Figure 6 , the thermal plastic path 60 is not only designed in the hollow part 51, but also designed on the circumferential outer side of the support structure 50, so that the thin films 40 on both sides of the support structure 50 along the up-down direction F2 can be thermally connected on the outer side of the support structure 50 to wrap the support structure 50 inside, reduce the movement of the support structure 50, and reduce the possibility of water entering between the support structure 50 and the thin films 40, thereby facilitating the improvement of the movement stability of the soft manta ray robot 100.

[0097] In some embodiments of the present application, the soft manta ray robot 100 further comprises a support structure 50 and a counterweight, which is arranged on the support structure 50 to make the density of the soft manta ray robot 100 slightly greater than the density of water. The counterweight can be detachably or fixedly arranged on the support structure 50.

[0098] By adjusting the weight and installation position of the counterweight, the overall weight and the center of gravity of the soft manta ray robot 100 can be adjusted, the density of the soft manta ray robot 100 is slightly greater than the density of water, so that the soft manta ray robot 100 can dive in the state that the four air chambers 213 are deflated, and can rise in the state that the four air chambers 213 are inflated, and the stability of the forward movement, the turning movement, the rising movement and the diving movement of the soft manta ray robot 100 is better.

[0099] The driving method according to the embodiment of the present application is used for driving the soft manta ray robot 100 based on the thin film pneumatic driver according to the embodiment of the present application to move.

[0100] The first driver 22 is located at the left side of the second driver 23, the first driver 22 includes the left upper air chamber 213 and the left lower air chamber 213 arranged along the up-down direction F2, and the second driver 23 includes the right upper air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 arranged along the up-down direction F2. In the state that the gas volume V1 of the air chamber 213 is equal to the predetermined gas volume V2, the air chamber 213 is in the inflated state; in the state that 0

[0101] The driving method includes:

[0102] S1: The control module 30 periodically inflates or deflates the four air chambers 213 in a plurality of periods T, so that the air chambers 213 are in the inflated state, the deflated state or the partially inflated state, and the soft manta ray robot 100 is driven to move.

[0103] The movement of the soft manta ray robot 100 in each period T is as follows, and each period is recorded as T.

[0104] After the control module 30 periodically inflates or deflates the four air chambers 213, after a plurality of periods T, that is, after any one of S21, S22, S23, S24, S25, S26, S27 and S28 is cyclically performed, a plurality of movements of the soft manta ray robot 100 are realized.

[0105] S21: In 0~0.5T, the control module 30 makes the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 in the full gas state, the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 in the full gas state, and the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 flap upward. In 0.5T~T, the control module 30 makes the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 in the full gas state, the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 in the full gas state, and the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 flap downward. The above actions (referring to the flapping or horizontal movement of the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 respectively) drive the soft manta ray robot 100 to have the first forward movement of the symmetrical flapping up and down.

[0106] In S21, the charging and discharging states of the four air chambers 213 in one period T are shown. After a plurality of periods T, the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are periodically cycled to flap upward, flap downward, flap upward, and so on. And the bending angles of the pneumatic driver 21 in the full gas state are roughly the same (for example, 18° upward or downward bending), so that the angles of the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 flapping upward and downward are consistent, the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 flap symmetrically up and down, and the soft manta ray robot 100 has the first forward movement of the symmetrical flapping up and down.

[0107] S22: In 0~0.45T, the control module 30 makes the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 in the full gas state, the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 in the full gas state, and the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 flap upward. In 0.45T~0.9T, the control module 30 makes the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 in the full gas state, the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 in the full gas state, and the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 flap downward. In 0.9T~T, the control module 30 makes the four air chambers 213 in the full gas state, and the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are horizontal. The above actions drive the soft manta ray robot 100 to have the second forward movement of the symmetrical flapping up and down and sliding in sequence in a period.

[0108] The inflation and deflation states of the four air chambers 213 in one period T are shown in S22. After multiple periods T, the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are periodically cycled to upward flapping, downward flapping, horizontal, upward flapping, and so on. The horizontal position of the pneumatic driver 21 means that the pneumatic driver 21 and the torso 10 are approximately in the same plane. The bending angles of the pneumatic driver 21 in the full inflation state are approximately the same (for example, 18° upward or downward bending). The angles of upward flapping and downward flapping of the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are consistent, which realizes the combination of upward and downward symmetric flapping and sliding of the first driver 22 and the second driver 23, and drives the soft manta ray robot 100 to perform the second forward motion of upward and downward symmetric flapping and sliding.

[0109] In S23, the control module 30 controls the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 to be in a partial inflation state, and the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 to be in a full deflation state within 0-0.5T. The first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are upward flapped with a bending angle smaller than that in the full inflation state. Within 0.5T-T, the control module 30 controls the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 to be in a full deflation state, and the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 to be in a full inflation state. The first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are downward flapped. The above actions drive the soft manta ray robot 100 to perform the third forward motion of upward and downward asymmetric flapping.

[0110] In S23, the inflation and deflation states of the four air chambers 213 in one period T are shown. After multiple periods T, the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are periodically cycled to upward flapping, downward flapping, upward flapping, and so on. The bending angles of the pneumatic driver 21 in the full inflation state and the partial inflation state are different. For example, the pneumatic driver 21 is upward or downward bent by 18° in the full inflation state, and the pneumatic driver 21 is upward or downward bent by 8° in the partial inflation state. The angles of upward flapping and downward flapping of the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are inconsistent, which realizes the upward and downward asymmetric flapping of the first driver 22 and the second driver 23, and drives the soft manta ray robot 100 to perform the third forward motion of upward and downward asymmetric flapping.

[0111] In S24, the control module 30 controls the four air chambers 213 to be in a full deflation state within 0-0.5T. The first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are horizontal. Within 0.5T-T, the control module 30 controls the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 to be in a full deflation state, and the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 to be in a full inflation state. The first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are downward flapped. The above actions drive the soft manta ray robot 100 to perform the fourth forward motion of downward flapping.

[0112] The inflation and deflation states of the four air chambers 213 in one period T are shown in S24. After multiple periods T, the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are periodically cycled to be horizontal, downward flapping, horizontal, and so on, so that the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are cycled to flap downward respectively, and the soft manta ray robot 100 is driven to perform a third forward movement of downward flapping.

[0113] S25: In 0-0.5T, the control module 30 makes the left upper air chamber 213 in the deflated state, and the left lower air chamber 213, the right upper air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 in the inflated state, and the first driver 22 flaps downward, and the second driver 23 is horizontal. In 0.5T-T, the control module 30 makes the four air chambers 213 all in the deflated state, and the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are horizontal. The above actions drive the soft manta ray robot 100 to perform a turning movement of turning right.

[0114] The inflation and deflation states of the four air chambers 213 in one period T are shown in S24. After multiple periods T, the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are periodically cycled to be horizontal, downward flapping, horizontal, and so on, so that the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are cycled to flap downward respectively, and the soft manta ray robot 100 is driven to perform a third forward movement of downward flapping.

[0115] S26: In 0-0.5T, the control module 30 makes the right upper air chamber 213 in the deflated state, and the left upper air chamber 213, the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 in the inflated state, and the first driver 22 is horizontal, and the second driver 23 flaps downward. In 0.5T-T, the control module 30 makes the four air chambers 213 all in the deflated state, and the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are horizontal. The above actions drive the soft manta ray robot 100 to perform a turning movement of turning left.

[0116] The inflation and deflation states of the four air chambers 213 in one period T are shown in S24. After multiple periods T, the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are periodically cycled to be horizontal, downward flapping, horizontal, and so on, so that the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are cycled to flap downward respectively, and the soft manta ray robot 100 is driven to perform a third forward movement of downward flapping.

[0117] S27: The control module 30 inflates the four air chambers 213, so that the four air chambers 213 are all in the inflated state, and the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are horizontal, and the soft manta ray robot 100 is driven to perform an upward movement.

[0118] When the four air chambers 213 are all in the full inflation state, the density of the soft manta ray robot 100 is slightly less than the density of water, so that the soft manta ray robot 100 in S27 can be caused to move upward under the action of buoyancy.

[0119] S28: The control module 30 deflates the four air chambers 213, so that the four air chambers 213 are all in the deflated state, the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are horizontal, and the soft manta ray robot 100 is driven to move downward.

[0120] When the four air chambers 213 are all in the deflated state, the density of the soft manta ray robot 100 is slightly greater than the density of water, so that the soft manta ray robot 100 in S28 can be caused to move downward under the action of gravity.

[0121] By controlling the control module 30 to periodically inflate or deflate the four air chambers 213 in multiple periods T, the states of the first driver 22 and the second driver 23, such as upward flapping, horizontal, downward flapping, and the flapping angles of the first driver 22 and the second driver 23, are controlled, so that the first forward movement, the second forward movement, the third forward movement, the turning movement of right turning, the turning movement of left turning, the upward movement, and the downward movement of the soft manta ray robot 100 are realized, and the bionic movement effect of the soft manta ray robot 100 on the real manta ray is better.

[0122] According to the driving method of the embodiment of the present application, the inflation amount in each air chamber 213 is adjusted by the inflation and deflation operation of the control module 30 on each air chamber 213 to drive the soft manta ray robot 100 to move, and the soft manta ray robot 100 has more degrees of freedom, higher bionics, and better movement maneuverability.

[0123] The soft manta ray robot 100 according to one specific embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, and it should be understood that the following description is only exemplary and cannot be understood as a limitation of the application.

[0124] As shown in Figures 3-12 The soft manta ray robot 100 includes a torso 10, two pectoral fins 20, and a control module 30, and the torso 10 is provided with a torso skeleton 11. The two pectoral fins 20 are arranged on both sides of the torso 10 along a spanwise direction F1, and the two pectoral fins 20 are provided with connected pneumatic drivers 21 and flexible fin surfaces 24, and the pneumatic drivers 21 are located on the front side of the flexible fin surfaces 24.

[0125] The pneumatic driver 21 comprises a first driver 22 and a second driver 23, the first driver 22 is located at the left pectoral fin 20, the second driver 23 is located at the right pectoral fin 20, the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 each comprise a driver skeleton 211 and four pneumatic membranes 212 arranged along the up-down direction F2. The left pectoral fin 20 comprises the first driver 22 connected and located at the front side and the flexible fin surface 24 located at the rear side, the right pectoral fin 20 comprises the second driver 23 connected and located at the front side and the flexible fin surface 24 located at the rear side.

[0126] At the first driver 22 or the second driver 23, two pneumatic membranes 212 are arranged on the upper side of the driver skeleton 211 and the other two pneumatic membranes are arranged on the lower side of the driver skeleton 211, the two pneumatic membranes 212 on the upper side of the driver skeleton 211 form an air chamber 213 between them, and the two pneumatic membranes 212 on the lower side of the driver skeleton 211 form an air chamber 213 between them. The first driver 22 and the second driver 23 each have two air chambers 213, and the entire pneumatic driver 21 has four air chambers 213.

[0127] The pneumatic driver 21 is provided with four air inlets 215 corresponding to the four air chambers 213, the air inlets 215 are located at the rear end of the pneumatic driver 21. The air chamber 213 is provided with a plurality of communicating air passages 214, the air passages 214 extend along the forward direction F3 of the soft manta ray robot 100.

[0128] The control module 30 is in communication with the four air inlets 215 of the pneumatic driver 21 to periodically inflate or deflate the four air chambers 213, so as to realize the pneumatic flapping of the pneumatic driver 21 along the spanwise F2 to drive the flexible fin surface 24 to generate flexible wave along the flow direction, so as to drive the first forward movement, the second forward movement, the third forward movement, the third forward movement, the right turning movement, the left turning movement, the upward movement and the downward movement of the soft manta ray robot 100.

[0129] In the forward direction F3, the maximum size of the pectoral fin 20 is L1, the maximum size of the driver skeleton 211 is L2, and the maximum size of the flexible fin surface 24 is L3, L2+L3=L1, L2<L1 / 2, L3>L1 / 2, the pneumatic driver 21 actively drives the front pectoral fin 20 to flap and drives the rear flexible fin surface 24 to wave, realizes half fin surface driving, and the active-passive hybrid driving effect is good.

[0130] The soft manta ray robot 100 comprises a support structure 50 and four membranes 40 arranged in sequence along the up-down direction F2 and connected, the support structure 50 is a PVC thin plate with a thickness of 0.4mm, and the membrane 40 is a TPU membrane with a thickness of 0.2mm.

[0131] The support structure 50 includes the trunk skeleton 11 and two driver skeletons 211, the four membranes 40 include a first membrane 41, a second membrane 42 and two third membranes 43, and the underwater part of the soft manta ray robot 100 includes the second membrane 42, the first membrane 41, the support structure 50, the third membrane 43, and the third membrane 43 stacked in sequence from top to bottom. The trunk 10 is provided with the middle part 401 of the second membrane 42, the middle part 401 of the first membrane 41, the trunk skeleton 11, the middle part 401 of the third membrane 43, and the middle part 401 of the third membrane 43 stacked in sequence from top to bottom. The pectoral fin 20 is provided with the two side parts 402 of the second membrane 42, the two side parts 402 of the first membrane 41, the driver skeleton 211, the two side parts 402 of the third membrane 43, and the two side parts 402 of the third membrane 43 stacked in sequence from top to bottom. At the pectoral fin 20, the pneumatic membrane 212 includes the front side of the two side parts 402 of the first membrane 41, the two side parts 402 of the second membrane 42, and the two side parts 402 of the third membrane 43, and the flexible fin surface 24 includes the rear side of the two side parts 402 of the first membrane 41.

[0132] The adjacent membranes 40 are thermoplastically connected and can form air chambers 213. The support structure 50 is provided with a plurality of hollow parts 51, which are long strip-shaped holes penetrating the support structure 50 in the up-down direction F2, and the membranes 40 located on both sides of the hollow part 51 in the up-down direction F2 are thermoplastically connected through the hollow part 51. The soft manta ray robot 100 further includes a counterweight, which is arranged on the support structure to make the density of the soft manta ray robot slightly greater than the density of water.

[0133] Under normal circumstances, the length of the soft manta ray robot 100 in the front-rear direction is 170 mm, the wing span size of the soft manta ray robot 100 in the left-right direction is 300 mm, and the thickness of the soft manta ray robot 100 is 1.2 mm. The soft manta ray robot 100 is extremely thin and approximately planar two-dimensional structure, which enables the soft manta ray robot 100 to have the true manta ray flat, wide and symmetrical geometric characteristics, and the soft manta ray robot 100 restores and simplifies the true manta ray body and wing-shaped pectoral fin profile in geometry, with high bionics.

[0134] The support structure 50 provides certain rigidity to the entire soft manta ray robot 100, so that the posture of the soft manta ray robot 100 is not easily disturbed by the flow of water during the swimming process of the soft manta ray robot 100, and at the same time plays a role in fixing the pectoral fin air chamber 213, acts as a fish skeleton, and can complete the expected action with high quality when the air chamber 213 is deformed without being affected by the water flow. The membrane 40 is flexible and can produce fish body waves by fluid-structure interaction with the water body.

[0135] In the process of processing the soft manta ray robot 100, first, the support structure 50 and the film 40 are laser cut pretreated in a preset shape, and the thermoplastic path 60 is designed in advance for each layer of film 40 for subsequent bonding. Two films 40 are bonded and form the air chamber 213 by thermoplastic printing according to the preset thermoplastic path 60. The air chamber 213 includes a plurality of strip-shaped channels in communication to communicate with the control module 30. The support structure 50 has a hollow part 51, and the films 40 on both sides of the support structure 50 in the up-down direction are bonded by thermoplastic printing in the hollow part 51 to embed the support structure 50 between the two films 40.

[0136] In the soft manta ray robot 100, after the air chamber 213 is inflated, the air chamber 213 expands, causing the pneumatic driver 21 to bend and deform to flap upward or downward. After the air chamber 213 is deflated, the air chamber 213 returns to a horizontal state. Periodic inflation and deflation of the air chamber 213 can enable the pneumatic driver 21 to complete a bending-flapping-restoring horizontal flapping cycle. When the pneumatic driver 21 flaps, it drives the flexible fin surface 24 to form a flexible wave along the flow direction, interacts with the water body to form a fish body wave propagating backward, and generates a thrust to provide propulsion for various movements of the soft manta ray robot 100.

[0137] The internal structure of the soft manta ray robot 100 is relatively simple, and the volume and weight of the water entry part are reduced, improving the maneuverability of the soft manta ray robot 100. The control module 30 includes a control source electrical device 31 and a flexible hose 32. The control source electrical device 31 includes an air source, a valve body, and an air pump, and the control source electrical device 31 is connected to the air chamber 213 through the flexible hose 32. The control source electrical device 31 for inflating or deflating the soft manta ray robot 100 is placed outside the land environment, and the control source electrical device 31 is connected to the water entry part of the soft manta ray robot 100 through the flexible hose 32, solving the waterproof problem of the control source electrical device 31 in the related art.

[0138] The control source electrical device 31 includes a control component (such as one or more of an STM32 single-chip microcomputer, a Raspberry Pi, an Arduino, a serial communication module, and a power amplifier), a valve body (such as an electromagnetic valve), and an air pump. Specifically, the control component includes an adjustable DC regulated power supply, a computer, an STM32 single-chip, a USB serial communication module, and a power amplifier, and the valve body includes four electromagnetic valves and a bus bar for integrating the four electromagnetic valves.

[0139] STM32 single-chip microcomputer, using STM32F103RCT6 (a model of STM32 single-chip microcomputer), is used to receive the action program instructions sent by the computer through the USB serial communication module, and is also used to send PWM wave to control the opening and closing of the electromagnetic valve. Adjustable DC power supply, using TDA305, provides a rated working voltage of 12V for the air pump and a working voltage of 12V for the PWM power amplifier circuit board.

[0140] PWM power amplifier, using YYNMOS-8, inputs PWM wave signals at 3-5V, and under the power supply voltage of 12V, can amplify and output PWM wave at a rated current of 10A. Air pump, using GC14-80, with a flow rate of 14L / min, works under a rated voltage of 12V to supply gas to the electromagnetic valve.

[0141] The electromagnetic valve, using a G-type DC 12V two-position three-way electromagnetic valve, is connected to the fish air chamber 213 through transparent silica gel chambers. The electromagnetic valve receives the amplified PWM signal and opens and closes regularly under the control of the PWM signal to regulate the inflation and deflation of the air chamber 213. The bus bar, using a 4F bus bar, integrates and distributes the air supply of the air pump to each secondary valve of the electromagnetic valve, while supporting the work of multiple valves.

[0142] The electromagnetic valve is a two-position three-way type, one end of which is connected to the air pump for air intake, and the other end is connected to the air inlet 215 of the bionic manta ray robot for air inflation or deflation of the air chamber 213. The STM32 single-chip microcomputer is connected to the computer through the USB serial communication module, and the action program instructions can be sent to the STM32 single-chip microcomputer through the USB serial communication module. The STM32 single-chip microcomputer will generate corresponding PWM wave (pulse width modulation signal) according to the instructions, and control the opening and closing of the electromagnetic valve after amplifying the signal through the PWM power amplifier.

[0143] During the operation of the soft-bodied manta ray robot 100, the air pump will continuously supply air or exhaust air to the electromagnetic valve at a constant power. By adjusting the output PWM wave, the periodic closure of each electromagnetic valve can be controlled, so that each air chamber 213 is periodically inflated and deflated, and the preset action is realized.

[0144] The application utilizes the combination of left and right pectoral fin 20 flapping actions to realize multiple forward modes, different direction turning modes, and ascending and diving movement modes of the soft-bodied manta ray robot 100. The control program schematic diagram of the control source electrical equipment 31 is shown in Figure 11 .

[0145] For any one of the left and right pectoral fins 20, the upper and lower air chambers 213 are inflated or deflated to make the pectoral fin 20 in a horizontal state, the upper air chamber 213 is inflated and the lower air chamber 213 is deflated to make the pectoral fin 20 bend upward, and the lower air chamber 213 is inflated and the upper air chamber 213 is deflated to make the pectoral fin 20 bend downward.

[0146] Controlling the upper and lower air chambers 213 of any one of the left and right sides to be periodically inflated or deflated in phase can make the corresponding side pectoral fin 20 in a horizontal state. For example, controlling the left two air chambers 213 to be inflated at the same time makes them in a full inflation state, so that the left pectoral fin 20 is in a horizontal state. For example, controlling the left two air chambers 213 to be deflated at the same time makes them in a full deflation state, so that the left pectoral fin 20 is in a horizontal state. Among them, when the upper and lower air chambers 213 of any one of the left and right sides are in a full inflation state at the same time, the corresponding pneumatic actuator 21 of the pectoral fin 20 on the corresponding side is in a tension mode, and has a larger stiffness.

[0147] Based on this, the source electrical equipment 31 can be controlled to control the ordered inflation and deflation of the air chamber 213, so that the pneumatic actuator 21 is ordered to beat, and the pectoral fin 20 can realize multiple actions, so that the soft body manta ray robot 100 can complete multiple movements.

[0148] The driving method for driving the soft body manta ray robot 100 to move is described below.

[0149] First, three inflation and deflation states of the air chamber 213 are defined, the gas volume in the air chamber 213 is denoted as V1, the maximum inflation volume of the air chamber 213 without damage is a predetermined volume, and the predetermined volume is denoted as V2. V1=V2, the air chamber 213 is in a full inflation state; in the state of 0

[0150] The driving method includes:

[0151] S1: The control module 30 periodically inflates or deflates the four air chambers 213 in multiple periods T, so that the air chamber 213 is in a full inflation state, a full deflation state or a partial inflation state, and drives the soft body manta ray robot 100 to move.

[0152] The movement of the soft body manta ray robot 100 in each period T is as follows (steps S21, S22, S23, S24, S25, S26, S27 and S28), and each period is denoted as T.

[0153] In step S1, any one of steps S21, S22, S23, S24, S25, S26, S27 and S28 is selected to be cycled, so as to realize multiple movements of the soft body manta ray robot 100.

[0154] S21: In 0~0.5T, the control module 30 makes the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 in the full gas state, the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 in the exhaust state, and the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 flap upwards. In 0.5T~T, the control module 30 makes the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 in the exhaust state, the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 in the full gas state, and the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 flap downwards. The above actions drive the soft manta ray robot 100 to generate the first forward movement of the upper and lower symmetrical flapping.

[0155] Specifically, for example, one period T is 450ms, in 0~225ms, the electromagnetic valves controlling the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 are in the fully open state, the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 are inflated to quickly reach the full gas state, and then the electromagnetic valves are closed. The electromagnetic valves controlling the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 are in the fully open state, the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 are deflated to reach the exhaust state, and then the electromagnetic valves are closed. In 0~225ms, the left and right pectoral fins 20 flap upwards. In 225ms~450ms, similarly, the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 are in the exhaust state, and the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 are quickly in the full gas state. In 225ms~450ms, the left and right pectoral fins 20 flap downwards.

[0156] The second period T is the same as the first period T. The above operations are repeated for multiple periods T, so that when the upper air chamber 213 is inflated, the lower air chamber 213 is deflated, and when the upper air chamber 213 is deflated, the lower air chamber 213 is inflated. The left and right pectoral fins 20 can flap upwards, downwards, upwards, and so on, so that the soft manta ray robot 100 can realize periodic upward and downward flapping, and the flapping amplitude is consistent. At this time, the soft manta ray robot 100 can realize relatively fast forward movement.

[0157] S22: In 0~0.45T, the control module 30 makes the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 in the full gas state, the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 in the exhaust state, and the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 flap upwards. In 0.45T~0.9T, the control module 30 makes the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 in the exhaust state, the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 in the full gas state, and the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 flap downwards. In 0.9T~T, the control module 30 makes the four air chambers 213 in the exhaust state, and the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are horizontal. The above actions drive the soft manta ray robot 100 to generate the second forward movement of the upper and lower symmetrical flapping and sliding in the period.

[0158] Specifically, for example, one period T is 500 ms, in 0~225 ms, the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 are in the full inflation state, and the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 are in the full deflation state. Therefore, in 0~225 ms, the pectoral fins 20 on both sides flap upwards. In 225 ms~450 ms, the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 are in the full deflation state, and the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 are in the full inflation state. Therefore, in 225 ms~450 ms, the pectoral fins 20 on both sides flap downwards. In 450 ms~500 ms, the four air chambers 213 are in the full deflation state, and the pectoral fins 20 on both sides quickly return to the horizontal state in 450 ms~500 ms. Therefore, in 450 ms~500 ms, the soft manta ray robot 100 performs a gliding motion. The second period T is the same as the first period T. The operation is repeated for multiple periods T, which can make the pectoral fins 20 on both sides flap upwards, flap downwards, glide, flap upwards, and so on, so as to enable the soft manta ray robot 100 to realize periodic flapping, gliding and flapping.

[0159] S23: In 0~0.5T, the control module 30 controls the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 to be in the partial inflation state, and the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 to be in the full deflation state. The first driver 22 and the second driver 23 flap upwards and the bending angle is smaller than that in the full inflation state. In 0.5T~T, the control module 30 controls the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 to be in the full deflation state, and the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 to be in the full inflation state. The first driver 22 and the second driver 23 flap downwards. The above actions drive the soft manta ray robot 100 to perform a third forward motion of asymmetric flapping.

[0160] Specifically, for example, one period T is 450 ms, in 0~225 ms, by adjusting the duty cycle of the PWM wave output or other means, so that the duty cycle of the PWM wave when the left and right upper air chambers 213 are inflated is only 1%, the opening of the electromagnetic valve controlling the left and right upper air chambers 213 is small, at this time the left and right upper air chambers 213 are slowly inflated, so that the left and right upper air chambers 213 are in a partially inflated state, and then the electromagnetic valve is closed. The electromagnetic valve controlling the left and right lower air chambers 213 is in a fully open state to deflate the left and right lower air chambers 213 to a fully deflated state, and then the electromagnetic valve is closed. Therefore, in 0~225 ms, the left and right chest fins 20 on both sides flap upward with a small amplitude. In 225 ms~450 ms, the electromagnetic valve controlling the left and right upper air chambers 213 is in a fully open state to deflate the left and right upper air chambers 213 to a fully deflated state. The electromagnetic valve controlling the left and right lower air chambers 213 is in a fully open state to inflate the left and right lower air chambers 213 to a fully inflated state. Therefore, in 225 ms~450 ms, the left and right chest fins 20 on both sides flap downward with a large amplitude.

[0161] The second period T is the same as the first period T, and the operation is repeated for multiple periods T, so that when the upper air chamber 213 is slowly inflated, the lower air chamber 213 is deflated, and when the upper air chamber 213 is deflated, the lower air chamber 213 is quickly inflated, the chest fins 20 on both sides can be made to flap upward with a small amplitude, downward with a large amplitude, upward with a small amplitude, and so on, so that the soft-bodied manta ray robot 100 can achieve periodic up and down flapping, and the flapping amplitudes are inconsistent.

[0162] In addition to adjusting the duty cycle of the PWM wave output to adjust the opening of the electromagnetic valve and then adjusting the amplitude of the chest fin 20 flapping, the amplitude of the chest fin 20 flapping can also be adjusted by adjusting the inflation air pressure of the air pump, the frequency and amplitude of the chest fin 20 flapping can be adjusted by adjusting the inflation and deflation time, and other means, so as to realize the adjustment of the movement speed of the soft-bodied manta ray robot 100. Among them, the inflation and deflation time 225 ms and the PWM wave output duty cycle 1% when slowly inflated are better parameters obtained through multiple experiments, which can better realize the corresponding actions.

[0163] S24: In 0~0.5T, the control module 30 makes the four air chambers 213 all in the state of being deflated, and the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are horizontal. In 0.5T~T, the control module 30 makes the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 in the state of being deflated, and the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 in the state of being inflated, and the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 flap downward. The above actions drive the soft manta ray robot 100 to generate the fourth forward movement of flapping downward.

[0164] Specifically, for example, one period T is 450 ms, and similarly, the left upper air chamber 213 and the right upper air chamber 213 are always in the state of being deflated in 0~450 ms, and the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 are in the state of being deflated in 0~225 ms and in the state of being inflated in 225 ms~450 ms. The operation of the second period T being the same as the first period T is repeated for multiple periods T, so that the left and right pectoral fins 20 are cyclically horizontal, flapping downward, horizontal, flapping downward, and so on. Only the upper air chamber 213 or the lower air chamber 213 is inflated or deflated in each period T, and the other side is always deflated, so that the action of only flapping downward or only flapping upward can be realized, and at this time the soft manta ray robot 100 can realize a slower forward movement.

[0165] Through experimental measurement and calculation, the speeds of the four forward modes can be ranked from high to low as: the third forward mode > the second forward mode > the first forward mode > the fourth forward mode.

[0166] S25: In 0~0.5T, the control module 30 makes the left upper air chamber 213 in the state of being deflated, and the left lower air chamber 213, the right upper air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 in the state of being inflated, and the first driver 22 flaps downward and the second driver 23 is horizontal. In 0.5T~T, the control module 30 makes the four air chambers 213 all in the state of being deflated, and the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are horizontal. The above actions drive the soft manta ray robot 100 to generate the steering movement of steering to the right.

[0167] Specifically, for example, one period T is 450 ms, and similarly, the left upper air chamber 213 is always in the state of being deflated in 0~450 ms, and the left lower air chamber 213 and the right air chamber 213 are in the state of being inflated in 0~225 ms and in the state of being deflated in 225 ms~450 ms. The operation of the second period T being the same as the first period T is repeated for multiple periods T, so that the left pectoral fin 20 is cyclically flapped downward, horizontal, flapped downward, and so on, and the right pectoral fin 20 is cyclically inflated, contracted, inflated, and so on, and the right pectoral fin 20 is always horizontal, so that the soft manta ray robot 100 turns to the right.

[0168] S26: In 0~0.5T, the control module 30 makes the right upper air chamber 213 in the deflated state, the left upper air chamber 213, the left lower air chamber 213 and the right lower air chamber 213 in the inflated state, the first driver 22 horizontal, and the second driver 23 flapping downward. In 0.5T~T, the control module 30 makes the four air chambers 213 in the deflated state, and the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 horizontal. The above actions drive the soft manta ray robot 100 to make a turning motion of turning left.

[0169] Specifically, for example, one period T is 450ms, and similarly, the right upper air chamber 213 is always in the deflated state in 0~450ms, and the right lower air chamber 213 and the left two air chambers 213 are in the inflated state in 0~225ms and in the deflated state in 225ms~450ms. The second period T is the same as the first period T, and the operation is repeated for multiple periods T, so that the right side pectoral fin 20 is repeatedly flapped downward, horizontal, flapped downward, and the left side pectoral fin 20 is repeatedly inflated, contracted, inflated, and the left side pectoral fin 20 is always in the horizontal state, so that the soft manta ray robot 100 turns left.

[0170] S27: The control module 30 inflates the four air chambers 213, so that the four air chambers 213 are in the inflated state, the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are horizontal, and the soft manta ray robot 100 makes an ascending motion.

[0171] S28: The control module 30 deflates the four air chambers 213, so that the four air chambers 213 are in the deflated state, the first driver 22 and the second driver 23 are horizontal, and the soft manta ray robot 100 makes a diving motion.

[0172] A 2g counterweight is attached to the surface of the soft manta ray robot 100, so that the overall weight of the soft manta ray robot 100 is slightly greater than the buoyancy when all the air chambers 213 are in the deflated state, so that the soft manta ray robot 100 realizes the diving motion underwater. When all the air chambers 213 are inflated, the volume of the air chamber 213 changes, so that the soft manta ray robot 100 receives a buoyancy slightly greater than its own weight, and the part of the soft manta ray robot 100 underwater can realize the ascending motion.

[0173] In this embodiment, the mass of the soft manta ray robot 100 is 27.2g, the maximum forward speed is 0.79BL / s (body length per second), the maximum turning speed is 7° / s, and the maximum turning radius is 2BL.

[0174] The application takes manta ray as a bionic object, designs a soft manta ray robot 100 based on a film pneumatic driving mode (bending deformation of the pneumatic driver 21), and realizes multiple motion modes such as forward movement, turning, ascending, diving and the like through a motion control algorithm. Compared with the rigid driving bionic manta ray in the related art, the application has the advantages of high bionics, strong maneuverability, small working noise and the like; compared with the flexible driving bionic manta ray in the related art, the application has the advantages of high propulsion efficiency, simple structure, low manufacturing technology difficulty, small manufacturing cost and the like.

[0175] The application is based on a new pneumatic driver 21, and for the first time applies the pneumatic flexible driving mode to the manta ray robot, thereby providing more possibilities for the design of the flexible driving manta ray robot. In addition, the manta ray robot manufactured by the application has the advantages of lightweight, strong invisibility, small noise and the like, thereby contributing a new research means to the fields of underwater exploration, marine biology research, coastline ecosystem detection and the like.

[0176] The other constitution and operation of the soft manta ray robot 100 and the driving method according to the embodiments of the application are known to those skilled in the art, and will not be described in detail here.

[0177] In the description of the application, it should be noted that unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms “mounting”, “connection”, “connecting” should be understood in a broad sense, for example, can be fixed connection, can also be detachable connection, or integrally connected; can be mechanical connection, can also be electrical connection; can be directly connected, can also be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, can be the communication inside two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0178] In the description of the specification, the description referring to the terms “embodiment”, “specific embodiment”, “example” and the like means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are contained in at least one embodiment or example of the application. In the specification, the illustrative description of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.

[0179] Although the embodiments of the application have been shown and described, those skilled in the art can understand that various changes, modifications, replacements and variations can be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and purposes of the application, and the scope of the application is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A soft manta ray-like robot based on a thin film pneumatic actuator, characterized in that: include: a torso, the torso being provided with a torso frame; Two pectoral fins, the two pectoral fins are arranged on both sides of the trunk along the span direction, the two pectoral fins are provided with pneumatic actuators, the pneumatic actuators include a first actuator and a second actuator respectively located on the two pectoral fins, the first actuator and the second actuator each include a actuator frame and four pneumatic membranes arranged in the up-down direction, the two actuator frames are connected to the trunk frame, at each of the pectoral fins, two pneumatic membranes are arranged on the upper side of the actuator frame and the other two pneumatic membranes are arranged on the lower side of the actuator frame, and an air chamber is formed between the two pneumatic membranes on either side of the actuator frame in the up-down direction; A control module is connected to the four air chambers of the pneumatic actuator respectively to periodically inflate or deflate the four air chambers, thereby achieving pneumatic flapping of the pneumatic actuator to drive the soft manta ray-like robot to move, and the movement at least includes moving forward, turning, ascending and diving.

2. The soft manta ray-like robot based on a thin film pneumatic actuator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pneumatic drive is provided with four air vents corresponding to the four air chambers in a one-to-one manner. The air vents are located at the rear end of the pneumatic drive and are connected to the control module. The air chambers are provided with a plurality of connected air passages, and the air passages extend along the forward direction of the soft manta ray-like robot.

3. The soft manta ray-like robot based on a thin film pneumatic actuator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pectoral fin is provided with a connected pneumatic driver and a flexible fin surface. The pneumatic driver is located on the front side of the flexible fin surface. The pneumatic driver generates pneumatic flapping to drive the flexible fin surface to generate flexible fluctuations to drive the soft manta ray-like robot to move.

4. The soft manta ray-like robot based on a thin film pneumatic actuator according to claim 3, characterized in that: In the forward direction, the maximum size of the pectoral fin is L1, the maximum size of the driver frame is L2, and the maximum size of the flexible fin surface is L3, L2+L3=L1, L2<L1 / 2, L3>L1 / 2.

5. The soft manta ray-like robot based on a thin film pneumatic actuator according to claim 3, characterized in that: The soft manta ray-like robot has multiple films connected in sequence along the up and down directions, and the multiple films include a first film, the middle part of the first film covers the trunk skeleton, and the two side parts cover the two pectoral fins, and the two side parts of the first film include an area covering the driver skeleton and an area forming the flexible fin surface.

6. The soft manta ray-like robot based on a thin film pneumatic actuator according to claim 5, characterized in that: The plurality of films further include a second film and two third films, wherein the middle portion of the second film covers a portion of the trunk frame and the two side portions cover the driver frame, and the middle portion of the third film covers the trunk frame and the two side portions cover the driver frame. The soft manta ray-like robot includes a supporting structure, which includes the connected torso skeleton and two driver skeletons. The first film and the second film are located on the upper side of the supporting structure, the second film is located on the upper side of the first film, and the two third films are located on the lower side of the supporting structure.

7. The soft manta ray-like robot based on a thin film pneumatic actuator according to claim 5, characterized in that: Adjacent films are thermoplastically connected and are suitable for forming the air chamber.

8. The soft manta ray-like robot based on a thin film pneumatic actuator according to claim 7, characterized in that: The soft manta ray-like robot includes a support structure, which includes the connected torso skeleton and two driver skeletons. The support structure is provided with a plurality of hollow parts, which are long strip-shaped holes that penetrate the support structure in the up-down direction. The films located on both sides of the hollow parts in the up-down direction are thermoplastically connected through the hollow parts.

9. The soft manta ray-like robot based on a thin film pneumatic actuator according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The soft manta ray-like robot includes a support structure and a counterweight. The support structure includes the connected trunk frame and two driver frames. The counterweight is arranged on the support structure, so that the density of the soft manta ray-like robot is greater than the density of water.

10. A driving method for driving the soft manta ray-like robot based on a thin film pneumatic actuator according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The first actuator is located on the left side of the second actuator. The first actuator includes an upper left air chamber and a lower left air chamber arranged in a vertical direction. The second actuator includes an upper right air chamber and a lower right air chamber arranged in a vertical direction. When the gas volume V1 of the gas in the air chamber is equal to the predetermined gas volume V2, the air chamber is in a full gas state. In the state of 0<V1<V2, the air chamber is in a partially inflated state; in the state of V1=0, the air chamber is in a fully deflated state, and the driving method includes: The control module periodically inflates or deflates the four air chambers in multiple cycles so that the air chambers are in the inflated state, the deflated state, or the partially inflated state, thereby driving the soft manta ray-like robot to move. The movement of the soft manta ray-like robot in each cycle is as follows, where each cycle is denoted as T. Within 0 to 0.5T, the control module causes the upper left air chamber and the upper right air chamber to be in the inflated state, the lower left air chamber and the lower right air chamber to be in the deflated state, and the first driver and the second driver to flap upward; within 0.5T to T, the control module causes the upper left air chamber and the upper right air chamber to be in the deflated state, the lower left air chamber and the lower right air chamber to be in the inflated state, and the first driver and the second driver to flap downward; the above actions drive the soft manta ray-like robot to perform a first forward motion with symmetrical flapping up and down; or, Within 0 to 0.45T, the control module places the upper left air chamber and the upper right air chamber in the inflated state, the lower left air chamber and the lower right air chamber in the deflated state, and the first driver and the second driver flap upward; within 0.45T to 0.9T, the control module places the upper left air chamber and the upper right air chamber in the deflated state, the lower left air chamber and the lower right air chamber in the inflated state, and the first driver and the second driver flap downward; within 0.9T to T, the control module places all four air chambers in the deflated state, and the first driver and the second driver are horizontal; the above actions drive the soft manta ray-like robot to perform a second forward motion of flapping and sliding symmetrically up and down in sequence within a cycle; or, Within 0 to 0.5T, the control module places the upper left air chamber and the upper right air chamber in the partially inflated state, the lower left air chamber and the lower right air chamber in the fully deflated state, and the first driver and the second driver flap upward with a bending angle smaller than the bending angle in the inflated state; within 0.5T to T, the control module places the upper left air chamber and the upper right air chamber in the fully deflated state, the lower left air chamber and the lower right air chamber in the inflated state, and the first driver and the second driver flap downward; the above actions drive the soft manta ray-like robot to perform a third forward motion with an asymmetric flapping motion up and down; or, Within 0 to 0.5T, the control module places all four air chambers in the deflated state, and the first driver and the second driver are horizontal; within 0.5T to T, the control module places the upper left air chamber and the upper right air chamber in the deflated state, and the lower left air chamber and the lower right air chamber in the filled state, and the first driver and the second driver flap downward; the above actions drive the soft manta ray-like robot to perform a fourth forward motion of flapping downward; or, Within 0 to 0.5T, the control module places the upper left air chamber in the deflated state, the lower left air chamber, the upper right air chamber, and the lower right air chamber in the inflated state, the first actuator flaps downward, and the second actuator is horizontal; within 0.5T to T, the control module places all four air chambers in the deflated state, and the first actuator and the second actuator are horizontal; the above actions drive the soft manta ray-like robot to turn right; or, Within 0 to 0.5T, the control module places the upper right air chamber in the deflated state, the upper left air chamber, the lower left air chamber, and the lower right air chamber in the inflated state, the first driver is horizontal, and the second driver flaps downward; within 0.5T to T, the control module places all four air chambers in the deflated state, the first driver and the second driver are horizontal; the above actions drive the soft manta ray-like robot to turn left; or, The control module inflates the four air chambers so that the four air chambers are all in the inflated state, and the first driver and the second driver are horizontal, driving the soft manta ray-like robot to move upward; or, The control module deflates the four air chambers so that all four air chambers are in the deflated state. The first driver and the second driver are horizontal, driving the soft manta ray-like robot to dive.

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