Wall Following Control of a Robotic Fish Using Dynamic Pressure

Wei-Kuo Yen, Daniel S. Martinez and Jenhwa Guo

Abstract:	The work is to control a robotic fish to swim alongside a wall. Research shows that fish use lateral line to obtain nearfield information, so they can keep swimming alongside a wall. This concept can also be applied to manmade underwater vehicles, such as robotic fish, which mimic the swimming style of fish. To achieve that, pressure sensors are equipped on the surface of a robotic fish, so the robot can measure the variation of hydrodynamic pressure around itself. Based on two dimensional potential flow theory and the image method, while a robotic fish swims near a wall, the pressure variation is related to the relative angle and distance between the robot and the wall. Thus the pressure signals can be feedback as the control inputs, which decide the direction of the robot to swim. The experimental results show a robotic fish of 90 cm long can swim alongside a straight wall with approximate 30 cm (0.33 body length, 1 tail fin height). For further applications, it is expected this method can be combined with a well-designed swimming strategy for a robotic fish to swim in close proximity to an underwater structure to inspect details of structure parts.
Published in:	Proceedings of the ION 2015 Pacific PNT Meeting April 20 - 23, 2015 Marriott Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa Honolulu, Hawaii
Pages:	423 - 428
Cite this article:	Yen, Wei-Kuo, Martinez, Daniel S., Guo, Jenhwa, "Wall Following Control of a Robotic Fish Using Dynamic Pressure," Proceedings of the ION 2015 Pacific PNT Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii, April 2015, pp. 423-428.
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