A few months ago, Germany-based industrial control and automation company Festo unveiled the BionicWheelBot. Inspired by the Moroccan flic-flic spider, which flees by performing a series of forward or backward flips, the robotic design can walk and roll with ease.
Now, the company has released an autonomous aquatic design dubbed the BionicFinWave, emulating the movements of the cuttlefish.
In particular, designers were interested in how the fish uses its fins to generate a continuous wave that spans its entire length. As the fins move in this undulating pattern, water is push backward and thus creates forward thrust. BionicFinWave displays this ability by maneuvering through an underwater pipe labyrinth, gracefully flowing through all its twists and turns.
The two side fins are made of flexible silicone, and fastened to nine small lever arms, which are driven by two servo motors located within the robot’s body. The force is transferred by two crankshafts to each of the levers, allowing the two fins to move individually.
Most of the design in 3D printed, with the cavities acting as floatation devices and the watertight location for the technology system. There, a pressure sensor, circuit board stacked with a remote module and processor, and ultrasound sensor safely reside.
“At the same time the autonomous underwater robot is able to communicate with the outside world wirelessly and transmit data—such as the recorded sensor values for temperature and pressure—to a tablet,” according to Festo.
Enjoy watching the robotic cuttlefish glide under the water in the video below.