OpenFish: Biomimetic Design of a Soft Robotic Fish for High Speed Locomotion

TL;DR

OpenFish is an open source soft robotic fish designed for high-speed swimming, utilizing a novel propulsion system and optimized morphology to outperform previous models and facilitate future research in soft robotics.

Contribution

The paper introduces a biomimetic soft robotic fish with a novel propulsion system and optimized design, achieving higher speeds and open source accessibility for research advancement.

Findings

Achieves a top speed of 0.85 m/s, 27% faster than previous models.

Uses a novel propulsion system with higher oscillation frequencies.

Provides detailed design, construction, and customization information.

Abstract

We present OpenFish: an open source soft robotic fish which is optimized for speed and efficiency. The soft robotic fish uses a combination of an active and passive tail segment to accurately mimic the thunniform swimming mode. Through the implementation of a novel propulsion system that is capable of achieving higher oscillation frequencies with a more sinusoidal waveform, the open source soft robotic fish achieves a top speed of $0.85~\mathrm{m/s}$. Hereby, it outperforms the previously reported fastest soft robotic fish by $27\%$. Besides the propulsion system, the optimization of the fish morphology played a crucial role in achieving this speed. In this work, a detailed description of the design, construction and customization of the soft robotic fish is presented. Hereby, we hope this open source design will accelerate future research and developments in soft robotic fish.