Surge performance of an underwater vehicle with a biomimetic tendon drive propulsion system

This article presents a study into the forward propulsion of a free swimming, custom-built biomimetic underwater vehicle called the RoboSalmon developed at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. As the name implies, the design of this vehicle is based on the dimensions of an Atlantic salmon. It realises fish-like propulsion through a tail assembly that utilises a tendon drive actuation system driven by a single servo motor. A brief overview of the experimental hardware is given followed by a discussion of the accompanying mathematical model of the vehicle. Experimental results are presented for straight swimming trials that show the surge velocity performance of the vehicle. In the context of forward swimming, the efficiency and power consumption of the vehicle are analysed, and the adverse effect of tail recoil is discussed.