IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - September 2019 - 38

and flexible chordwise bridges. The complex movement deformation of the cownose ray was split into two main components: chordwise wave transmissions and spanwise flapping
movements. Through these simplification methods, the bionic mechanism described in this article has fulfilled the movement requirements of the bionic fish to ultimately meet the
developmental targets.
There are still some limitations that hinder applications of
the bionic fish, such as lack of capacity for sensory perception, autonomous swimming, and obstacle avoidance. These
kinds of limitations will be solved step by step; therefore,
future tests and improvements of the bionic fish will be carried out. Sensors such as a gyroscope and depth sensors will
be equipped and fully explored for autonomous swimming,
infrared sensors will be used for obstacle avoidance, and so
on to make the bionic fish more adaptive to practical aquaculture applications.
Although the simplifications applied to bionic designs can
accelerate the development process, it is clear that the complex structures of cownose rays play important roles in the
optimized performance of the bionic fish. Further investigations of the bionic fish prototype using soft materials are in
progress. This prototype will provide movement functions
and morphology following its natural model to a much greater extent.
Acknowledgments
This work is supported by the Beijing Natural Science Foundation grant 3182019. We also appreciate the support of the
China Scholarship Council number 201706025027.
References
[1] J. Z. Yu, M. Wang, M. Tan, and J. W. Zhang, "Three-dimensional
swimming," IEEE Robot. Autom. Mag., vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 47-58, 2011.
[2] Z. J. Zuo, Z. F. Wang, B. Li, and S. G. Ma, "Serpentine locomotion of a
snake-like robot in water environment," in Proc. IEEE Conf. Robotics
and Biomimetics (ROBIO), 2009, pp. 25-30.
[3] Y. S. Ryuh, G. H. Yang, J. D. Liu, and H. Hu, "A school of robotic fish
for mariculture monitoring in the sea coast," J. Bionic Eng., vol. 12, no.
1, pp. 37-46, 2015.
[4] P. Phamduy, R. LeGrand, and M. Porfiri, "Robotic fish: Design and
characterization of an interactive iDevice-controlled robotic fish for
informal science education," IEEE Robot. Autom. Mag., vol. 22, no. 1, pp.
86-96, 2015.
[5] J. E. Harris, "The role of the fins in the equilibrium of the swimming fish II: The role of the pelvic fins," J. Experimental Biol., vol. 13,
no. 1, pp. 476-493, 1938.
[6] H. Suzuki, N. Kato, and K. Suzumori, "Load characteristics of mechanical pectoral fin," Experiments Fluids, vol. 44, no. 5, pp. 759-771, 2007.
[7] A. Asnafi, "A method to investigate general optimal maneuvers for
kinematically reducible robotic locomotion systems," J. Intell. Robot.
Syst., vol. 84, no. 1-4, pp. 799-813, 2016.
[8] Z. G. Zhang, N. Yamashita, M. Gondo, M. Yamamoto, and T. Higuchi, "Electrostatically actuated robotic fish: Design and control for
high-mobility open-loop swimming," IEEE Trans. Robot., vol. 24, no. 1,
pp. 118-129, 2008.

38

*

IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE

*

SEPTEMBER 2019

[9] L. J. Rosenberger, "Pectoral fin locomotion in batoid fishes: Undulation versus oscillation," J. Experimental Biol., vol. 204, no. 2, pp. 379-
394, 2001.
[10] P. W. Webb, "Kinematics of plaice, Pleuronectes platessa, and cod,
Gadus morhua, swimming near the bottom," J. Experimental Biol., vol.
205, pp. 2125-2134, July 2002.
[11] Z. Chen, T. I. Um, and H. Bart-Smith, "Bio-inspired robotic manta
ray powered by ionic polymer-metal composite artificial muscles," Int.
J. Smart Nano Mater., vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 296-308, 2012.
[12] C. M. Chew, Q. Y. Lim and K. S. Yeo, "Development of propulsion
mechanism for robot manta ray," in Proc. IEEE Conf. Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO), 2015, pp.1918-1923.
[13] B. Liu, Y. K. Yang, F. H. Qin, and S. W. Zhang, "Performance study
on a novel variable area robotic fin," Mechatronics, vol. 32, pp. 59-66,
Dec. 2015.
[14] S. Heathcote, Z. Wang, and I. Cursul, "Effect of spanwise flexibility
on flapping wing propulsion," J. Fluids Structure, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 183-
199, 2008.
[15] A. K. Kancharala and M. K. Philen, "Optimal chordwise stiffness
profiles of self-propelled flapping fins," Bioinspiration Biomimetics, vol.
11, no. 5, pp. 056016, 2016.
[16] A. I. Mainong, A. F. Ayob, and M. R. Arshad, "Investigating pectoral
shapes and locomotive strategies for conceptual designing bioinspired robotic fish," J. Eng. Sci. Technol., vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 1-14, 2017.
[17] C. L. Zhou and K. H. Low, "Better endurance and load capacity: An
improved design of manta ray robot (RoMan-II)," J. Bionic Eng., vol. 7,
no. 4, pp. S137-S144, 2010.
[18] S. W. Zhang, B. Liu, L. Wang, Q. Yan, K. H. Low, and J. Yang,
"Design and implementation of a lightweight bioinspired pectoral fin
driven by SMA," IEEE/ASME Trans. Mechatronics, vol. 19, no. 6, pp.
1773-1785, 2014.
[19] C. E. Heine, "Mechanics of flapping fin locomotion in the cownose
ray, Rhinoptera bonasus (Elasmobranchii: Myliobatidae)," Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. Zoology, Duke Univ., Durham, NC, 1992.
[20] R. P. Clark and A. J. Smits, "Thrust production and wake structure
of a batoid-inspired oscillating fin," J. Fluid Mech., vol. 562, pp. 415-429,
Jan. 2006.

Yueri Cai, Robotics Institute, Beihang University, Beijing,
China. E-mail: caiyueri@ buaa.edu.cn.
Shusheng Bi, Robotics Institute, Beihang University, Beijing,
China. E-mail: ssbi@buaa.edu.cn.
Guoyuan Li, Department of Ocean Operations and Civil Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology,
Trondheim, Norway. E-mail: guoyuan.li@ntnu.no.
Hans Petter Hildre, Department of Ocean Operations and Civil
Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. E-mail: hans.p.hildre@ntnu.no.
Houxiang Zhang, Department of Ocean Operations and Civil
Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. E-mail: hozh@ntnu.no.
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - September 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - September 2019
