Development of a Maneuverable Un-Tethered Multi-fin Soft Robot

In this paper, the design, fabrication, numerical studies, and preliminary characterization of a multi-fin soft robot are presented. The design is simple, robust, and fully autonomous. The robot has a 216mm body length and displays great potential to achieve uncoupled surge (forwards and backwards), sway, and heave motions. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) studies are employed to evaluate appropriate fin control approaches and their influence on force generation. By using asymmetric input functions to actuate all fins in phase, the robot can achieve close to pure heave motions while single fin symmetric actuation enables forwards, backwards, and sway motions.