Harnessing the Power of Vibration Motors to Develop Miniature Untethered Robotic Fishes

2025-01-09

AI Summary

To address autonomous exploration requirements in confined underwater environments—such as narrow passages and deep-sea trenches—this work proposes a tetherless, miniature biomimetic robotic fish. The robot measures 85 × 60 × 45 mm³ and features a novel actuation architecture: it employs eccentric rotating mass (ERM) vibration motors to drive hybrid rigid–soft pectoral and caudal fins, generating propulsion via high-frequency unidirectional oscillation-induced acoustic streaming—eliminating conventional mechanical transmission and enabling a fully sealed, highly integrated, and environmentally isolated design. The proposed acoustic-streaming propulsion mechanism, coupled with compact mechatronic integration, significantly enhances maneuverability: forward swimming speed reaches 1.36 body lengths per second (with full-fin actuation), and the minimum turning radius is only 0.6 body lengths under single-fin actuation. This work establishes a new low-complexity, high-robustness actuation paradigm for miniature untethered underwater robots.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Manipulation
• Machine Learning: Bio-inspired Learning
• Computer Vision: Biometrics, Face, Gesture & Pose

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Energy management for devices in mobile Web and WoT environments
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Efficiency and scalability of Web search engines
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: On-Device user modeling, personalization, and recommendation

Abstract

Miniature underwater robots play a crucial role in the exploration and development of marine resources, particularly in confined spaces and high-pressure deep-sea environments. This study presents the design, optimization, and performance of a miniature robotic fish, powered by the oscillation of bio-inspired fins. These fins feature a rigid-flexible hybrid structure and use an eccentric rotating mass (ERM) vibration motor as the excitation source to generate high-frequency unidirectional oscillations that induce acoustic streaming for propulsion. The drive mechanism, powered by miniature ERM vibration motors, eliminates the need for complex mechanical drive systems, enabling complete isolation of the entire drive system from the external environment and facilitating the miniaturization of the robotic fish. A compact, untethered robotic fish, measuring 85*60*45 mm^3, is equipped with three bio-inspired fins located at the pectoral and caudal positions. Experimental results demonstrate that the robotic fish achieves a maximum forward swimming speed of 1.36 body lengths (BL) per second powered by all fins and minimum turning radius of 0.6 BL when powered by a single fin. These results underscore the significance of employing the ERM vibration motor in advancing the development of highly maneuverable, miniature untethered underwater robots for various marine exploration tasks.

Problem

• Underwater Robotics
• Deep Sea Exploration
• Narrow Environment Navigation

Innovation

• Bio-inspired Design
• Miniature Robotic Fish
• Efficient Underwater Locomotion