Development of an Autonomous Modular Swimming Robot with Disturbance Rejection and Path Tracking

Hankun Deng, Colin Nitroy, Kundan Panta, Donghao Li, Shashank Priya, Bo Cheng

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Here we present the development of an autonomous modular swimming robot. This robot, named μBot 2.0, was upgraded from our previous robot platform μBot and features onboard computing, sensing, and power. Its compact size and modularity render the robot an ideal platform for studying bio-inspired robot swimming. The robot is equipped with a micro controller in its head that communicates with external computers through Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and sends motor commands to the body segments via Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) protocol. Each body segment has a customized printed circuit board (PCB) that receives commands and controls the electromagnetic actuator for generating body movements. The robot head is also equipped with an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) to measure its heading and a battery for power. In this work, a μBot 2.0 with three actuators was assembled and the swimming performance was tested. The robot actuators were activated via rhythmic motor input from a central pattern generator (CPG). Experimental results showed that the swimming speed was highly sensitive to the frequency of the motor input, with a maximum swimming speed of 130 mm/s (equivalent to 0.7 body length per second) at 6 Hz. The robot also had the capability to correct its heading with IMU feedback and follow desired paths using a line-of-sight (LOS) guidance law with an overhead camera. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of the robot's design and its potential in a variety of aquatic applications.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication2023 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS 2023
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages6645-6651
Number of pages7
ISBN (Electronic)9781665491907
DOIs
StatePublished - 2023
Event2023 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS 2023 - Detroit, United States
Duration: Oct 1 2023Oct 5 2023

Publication series

NameIEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems
ISSN (Print)2153-0858
ISSN (Electronic)2153-0866

Conference

Conference2023 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS 2023
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityDetroit
Period10/1/2310/5/23

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Control and Systems Engineering
  • Software
  • Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
  • Computer Science Applications

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