Optimal Gaits for Drag-dominated Swimmers with Passive Elastic Joints

TL;DR

This paper develops a method to identify optimal swimming gaits for drag-dominated swimmers with passive elastic joints, combining resistive force theory and geometric analysis to maximize speed and efficiency.

Contribution

It introduces a novel framework integrating resistive force theory and geometric methods to optimize gaits for swimmers with passive elastic joints in drag environments.

Findings

Identifies speed-maximizing gaits for passive elastic joint swimmers.

Determines efficiency-maximizing swimming strategies.

Provides a systematic approach for gait optimization in drag-dominated systems.

Abstract

In this paper, we identify optimal swimming strategies for drag-dominated swimmers with a passive elastic joint. We use resistive force theory (RFT) to obtain the dynamics of the system. We then use frequency domain analysis to relate the motion of the passive joint to the motion of the actuated joint. We couple this analysis with elements of the geometric framework introduced in our previous work aimed at identifying useful gaits for systems in drag dominated environments, to identify speed-maximizing and efficiency-maximizing gaits for drag-dominated swimmers with a passive elastic joint.