Building a Fish: The Biology and Engineering Behind a Bioinspired Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

Abstract

Abstract Bioinspired robotic designs have proven to be effective models for autonomous vehicles as well as important research tools in comparative biomechanics. Here we review the process by which we investigated the functional morphology and biomechanics of fish fins using live fish experiments and computational modeling; created and validated independent fins with regard to biological properties like stiffness, kinematics, and fluid dynamics; and constructed an autonomous underwater vehicle with a sensory feedback system to respond to perturbations.