Image 1 - Design, fabrication, control, and oceanic testing of a soft robotic fish that can swim in three dimensions to continuously record the aquatic life it is following or engaging.

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SoFi - The Soft Robotic Fish

Creator: MIT CSAIL

Country: United States of America

Summary

Design, fabrication, control, and oceanic testing of a soft robotic fish that can swim in three dimensions to continuously record the aquatic life it is following or engaging.

Status: Research

Operation: Autonomous, Teleoperation

Robot Type / Domain: Multi/General-Purpose, Research

Tasks: Exploration of underwater life

Learn More

Below is an extract from the online article: MIT CSAIL. (2018, December 07). SoFi - The Soft Robotic Fish: Exploration of underwater life with an acoustically controlled soft robotic fish. Retrieved from https://www.csail.mit.edu/research/sofi-soft-robotic-fish

"Closeup exploration of underwater life requires new forms of interaction, using biomimetic creatures that are capable of agile swimming maneuvers, equipped with cameras, and supported by remote human operation. This work presents the design, fabrication, control, and oceanic testing of a soft robotic fish that can swim in three dimensions to continuously record the aquatic life it is following or engaging.

Using a miniaturized acoustic communication module, a diver can direct the fish by sending commands such as speed, turning angle, and dynamic vertical diving. Experimental results gathered from tests along coral reefs in the Pacific Ocean show that the robotic fish can successfully navigate around aquatic life at depths ranging from 0 to 18 meters. Furthermore, our robotic fish exhibits a lifelike undulating tail motion enabled by a soft robotic actuator design that can potentially facilitate a more natural integration into the ocean environment.

We believe that our study advances beyond what is currently achievable using traditional thruster-based and tethered autonomous underwater vehicles, demonstrating methods that can be used in the future for studying the interactions of aquatic life and ocean dynamics."

Technical Specifications

Min. Size: N/A

Max. Size: 470L 230W 180H (mm)

Max. Size: 18.504L 9.055W 7.087H (in)

Max. Payload: N/A

Weight: 1.6 kg

Weight: 3.527 lbs

Average Runtime: 0.67 hr(s)

Max. Runtime: N/A

Battery Recharge Time: N/A

Actuation: Fluidic, Hydraulic

Number of Actuators: N/A

Body Material: Elastomer tail

Number of Axes: N/A

IP Rating: N/A

Operating Temperature: N/A

Open-source? N/A

Price: N/A

Show more specs

Depth: 18 m

deflections & pitch: Performed three levels of deflections in each direction, with a maximum baseline deflection of about ±30°. Similarly, the fish could pitch its dive planes at three levels in each direction, with a maximum pitch of ±45°

Speed: An average swim-ming speed of 21.7 cm/s (±3.2 cm/s) at depths of 0 to 18 m.

Sensors: Fisheye camera • BCU

Data Transmission / Communication: An acoustic transducer is mounted in front of the rigid dorsal fin, tilted upward, to receive commands from the human-operated diver interface module

No more specs to show.

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References

Robert K. Katzschmann et al., Exploration of underwater life with an acoustically controlled soft robotic fish.Sci. Robot.3,eaar3449(2018).DOI:10.1126/scirobotics.aar3449

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