Abstract: Finbot uses four independently controllable fins and sensory feedback for precise closed-loop underwater locomotion. Different caudal fins can be attached magnetically to reconfigure Finbot for swimming at top speed (122 mm/s ≡ 1 BL/s) or minimal cost of transport (CoT = 8.2) at Strouhal numbers as low as 0.53. We conducted more than 150 experiments with 12 different caudal fins to measure three key characteristics of swimming fish: (i) linear speed-frequency relationships, (ii) U-shaped costs of transport, and (iii) reverse Kármán wakes (visualized with particle image velocimetry).
Authors: Florian Berlinger, Mehdi Saadat, Hossein Haj-Hariri, George V Lauder, and Radhika Nagpal (Harvard)
