title: Actuation of a robotic fish caudal fin for low reaction torque.
abstract: In this paper, a novel caudal fin for actuating a robotic fish is presented. The proposed caudal fin waves in a vertical direction with a specific spatial shape, which is determined by a so-called shape factor. For a specific shape factor, a traveling wave with a vertical phase difference is formed on a caudal fin during fin motion. It will be shown by the analysis that the maximum reaction torque at the joint of a caudal fin varies depending on the shape factors. Compared with a conventional plate type caudal fin, the proposed fin with a shape factor of 2π can eliminate the reaction torque perfectly, while keeping the propulsion force unchanged. The benefits of the proposed fin will be demonstrated by experiments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Robotics and Intelligent Machinery, KIMM, Daejeon, 305-343, South Korea.
authors.forename: Dongwon
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.forename: Kyung-Soo
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Soohyun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jinho
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kyung
authors.forename: Sunghee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D058500:Animal Fins; D000818:Animals; D032701:Biomimetics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005399:Fishes / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012399:Rotation