Meeting Abstract

120-3  Tuesday, Jan. 7 10:45 – 11:00  Tuna robotics: design and control of an autonomous underwater vehicle inspired by tuna ZHU, JJ*; WAINWRIGHT, DK; LAUDER, GV; BART-SMITH, H; University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA; Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA jz8n@virginia.edu

Design of bio-inspired autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) is of scientific and technological importance. Most current autonomous “fish-like” robots usually suffer from slow speed, energy inefficiency, low maneuverability, and high cost. Our previous thunniform robotic platform has successfully addressed these challenges by implementing a high efficient propulsion system. In this study, we further developed the Tunabot into an autonomous version of the platform. The autonomous Tunabot is powered by a 42 Wh battery pack and controlled with an ARM Cortex M3 microcontroller. It measures 387.4 mm long, 129.8 mm high, and 205.3 mm wide. The design of the Tunabot adopted a modular approach for the purpose of easy maintenance and upgrade. Each module has a unique function and can be altered independently, which significantly reduces the design iteration cycle time and overall cost. Current work is focusing on pitch and yaw control of the Tunabot. A multi-sensor fusion and trajectory control algorithm was developed and applied to the system. The effect on pitch control was investigated with different size of the pectorals fins based on previous biological data. Yaw was controlled by asymmetric tail flapping. Finally, the kinematics of the autonomous Tunabot are compared to data obtained from live tuna and from the laboratory test-platform version of the Tunabot.