Cephalopod‐Inspired Swimming Robot Using Dielectric Elastomer Synthetic Jet Actuator

• Published in: Advanced engineering materials Vol. 22; no. 4
• Main Authors: Tang, Chao, Ma, Wentao, Li, Bo, Jin, Mingliang, Chen, Hualing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.04.2020
• Subjects: dielectric elastomer actuators; locomotion; synthetic jets; underwater robots
• ISSN: 1438-1656; 1527-2648
• DOI: 10.1002/adem.201901130

Jet propulsion is the main method of locomotion developed by cephalopods to swim through water, either for hunting or escaping from predators. Under this inspiration, diverse underwater robots utilizing jet propulsion‐based locomotion are studied. This article presents a cephalopod‐inspired robot based on a dielectric elastomer actuator, utilizing jet‐propulsion actuation. The actuator is designed and optimized under the guidance of a corresponding electromechanical model. Then, the flow field characteristics of the synthetic jet actuator are simulated and analyzed. Equipped with the actuator, the bioinspired robot can locomote either with a speed of 0.66 body length per second on the surface of the water by jetting air or with a speed of 0.43 body length per second while almost completely submerged underwater by jetting water. The jet actuator presents even more environmental adaptability, which powers dual swimming locomotion by jetting two flow media, and can potentially be applied to the design of underwater robots. This article develops a cephalopod‐inspired underwater robot. Utilizing the soft artificial muscle dielectric elastomer as the essential actuator, a vortex ring is realized during the jet propulsion, which further resembles the biological locomotion mechanism. A robot is assembled, enabling two locomotion capabilities: swimming on the water surface by jetting air and swimming under the water by jetting water.