Study on Thunniform Robot Propulsion by Tail-flapping Speed Change
Phan Huy Nam Anh, Hyeung-Sik Choi, Ruochen Zhang, Dongwook Jung, Cha Tae-Hyo, Seong-Chae Lee, Su-Hwan Kim
Abstract
Thunniform fish are renowned for their high-speed and efficient swimming, achieved through minimal body undulation and powerful tail-flapping. Inspired by this natural mechanism, this study develops a thunniform robotic fish and introduces a novel frequency profile control strategy for its tail-flapping propulsion. Unlike previous works that primarily focused on constant or low-speed tail-flapping, we propose and implement a new method that dynamically adjusts the tail-flapping speed using composite frequency profiles with varying frequencies and angle ranges within a single cycle. This approach aims to enhance surge speed and energy efficiency. The effectiveness of the proposed frequency profiles is systematically evaluated through three-dimensional incompressible viscous computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Results demonstrate that tailored multi-frequency tail-flapping profiles can significantly improve the surge performance of robot, providing valuable insights for the design of next-generation bio-inspired underwater propulsion systems. The novelty of this work lies in the formulation and validation of a frequency profile function that enables adaptive and efficient surge motion, advancing the field of bio-inspired aquatic robotics.
BibTeX
@inproceedings{iros2025_studyonthunnifor,
title = {Study on Thunniform Robot Propulsion by Tail-flapping Speed Change},
author = {Phan Huy Nam Anh and Hyeung-Sik Choi and Ruochen Zhang and Dongwook Jung and Cha Tae-Hyo and Seong-Chae Lee and Su-Hwan Kim},
booktitle = {IROS 2025},
year = {2025}
}