Latest Trends in Bio-Inspired Underwater Robotics

Dear Colleagues,

Aquatic animals’ locomotion has attracted the attention of biologists and engineers for a long time, and the last thirty years have witnessed a significant growth in the study of the comparative biomechanics of motion through water. The attempts to design machines, such as autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), capable of moving like biological swimmers are inspired by the superior performance of marine animals. Their often-remarkable abilities could inspire innovative designs to improve the ways that human-made systems operate in and interact with the aquatic environment.

As research and use of AUV’s are expanding, there is increased demand for improved efficiency to allow for longer missions to be undertaken. For maneuvering or hovering purposes, the existing systems are insufficient when it comes to demanding applications and coarse compared to the abilities of fish. The advantages of noiseless propulsion and a less conspicuous wake could be of additional significance, particularly for military applications.

Despite the efforts dedicated to pursuing the substantial potential payoffs of marine animals’ locomotion, the performance of biological swimmers is still far from being achieved. The possibility to replicate swimming modes matured over thousands of years of evolution relies on the understanding of the fluid mechanic principles of aquatic animals’ locomotion. Using advanced simulation and measurement techniques, researchers are trying to quantify the propulsive performances of biological swimmers. At the same time, engineers are developing novel design architectures to comply with the complex gaits of fish tails and fins.

Under this perspective, the present collection of papers is expected to provide a paradigm of the power of biomimetic approaches to improve the performance of underwater vehicles. The target is also that of providing a snapshot focus on contemporary research on novel mechanical structures, simulation and testing techniques, innovative applications, and control strategies.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):

• Mechanical design of novel swimming robots;
• Novel applications and research frontiers;
• Control strategy for path planning and cruising;
• Robotic fish fleets: communication protocols and industrial applications;
• Surveillance, patrolling, documentation, and rescue: biomimetic robots employed as service robots;
• Simulation and modeling of swimming robots;
• Experimental investigations on swimming performance of robotic fish;
• Computational fluid dynamics applied to bio-inspired underwater robots.

Dr. Daniele Costa
Dr. David Scaradozzi
Dr. Edin Omerdic
Guest Editors

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