The Anguilliform robotic fish swims in a test pool. Photo courtesy Unmanned Systems Journal.

by Scott Kesselman

In response to limitations in underwater intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, a team in Singapore has developed a prototype eel-like robotic fish modeled after the high flexibility of Anguilliform fish.



The robot is intended to gather information underwater in areas that are difficult or impossible for divers to reach and to inspect and clear mines autonomously on the sea floor.



The robot has N-links with N-1 joints and is controlled by torque applied to each joint. It can move forward, backward and turn around through different reference points using special 3-D oscillators, an artificial neural network and an outer amplitude modulator. Undulating propulsion may lead to amphibious, snake-like surveillance applications as well.



“We performed simulations and experiments on the robotic fish, equipped with a motion library to cope with different scenarios, and the results validate the effectiveness of the proposed controllers was able to swim forward and backward as predicted,” says project researcher Prof. Jianxin Xu.

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