Jellyfish inspired unmanned underwater vehicle

Alex Villanueva, Scott Bresser, Sanghun Chung, Yonas Tadesse, Shashank Priya

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

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

An unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) was designed inspired by the form and functionality of a Jellyfish. These natural organisms were chosen as bio-inspiration for a multitude of reasons including: efficiency of locomotion, lack of natural predators, proper form and shape to incorporate payload, and varying range of sizes. The structure consists of a hub body surrounded by bell segments and microcontroller based drive system. The locomotion of UUV was achieved by shape memory alloy "Biometal Fiber" actuation which possesses large strain and blocking force with adequate response time. The main criterion in design of UUV was the use of low-profile shape memory alloy actuators which act as artificial muscles. In this manuscript, we discuss the design of two Jellyfish prototypes and present experimental results illustrating the performance and power consumption.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationElectroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2009
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009
EventElectroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2009 - San Diego, CA, United States
Duration: Mar 9 2009Mar 12 2009

Publication series

NameProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Volume7287
ISSN (Print)0277-786X

Other

OtherElectroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2009
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySan Diego, CA
Period3/9/093/12/09

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Applied Mathematics
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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