Omnidirectional underwater robot inspired by the cuttlefish

Sepios can move in any direction, thanks to its four bio-inspired undulating fins

Image Gallery (5 images)

Cuttlefish are fascinating animals, in that they use a pair of undulating fins to move forward and backward, turn on the spot, or hover in place. If you wanted to make an underwater robot that was highly maneuverable yet quiet and immune to tangled propellers, then the cuttlefish would be a good creature to copy. Well, a group of mechanical engineering students from Switzerland's ETH Zurich have done just that – plus they gave it an extra set of fins, allowing it to also move straight up and down.

Known as Sepios, the robot was first revealed to the public last May.

Each of its four fins contain nine rays, each one of which has a 270-degree range of motion, and is activated by its own servo motor. Those fins join onto a central body that contains a mechanical swim bladder, which allows the robot to maintain a given depth by adjusting its buoyancy.

Other bits and pieces in that body include (or will eventually include) a live-streaming video camera, a water pressure/depth sensor, laser distance-measuring hardware, and a bundled accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer, which are used for attitude control. The whole robot tips the scales at 22.7 kg (50 lb).

One charge of the robot's battery pack allows it to operate for a quite respectable 90 minutes, descending a maximum of 10 meters (33 ft).

Because of its stealth and maneuverability, the team has suggested that Sepios could be particularly well-suited to observing and filming marine life. You can see the robot in action, in the video below.

For another example of an underwater robot that utilizes an undulating fin, check out Northwestern University's black ghost knife fish-inspired GhostBot.

自動(dòng)翻譯僅供參考

受墨魚啟發(fā)研制Sepios水下全方位機(jī)器人 Omnidirectional水下機(jī)器人的靈感來自于cuttlefish

Sepios可以向任何方向移動(dòng)，這要?dú)w功于它的四個(gè)仿生起伏片

圖片廊（5圖像）

墨魚是迷人的動(dòng)物，在那他們使用一對(duì)波狀鰭片的前進(jìn)，后退，打開點(diǎn)，或?qū)⑹髽?biāo)懸停到位。如果你想使水下機(jī)器人是高機(jī)動(dòng)性而又安靜，不受糾結(jié)螺旋槳，那么烏賊將是一個(gè)很好的生物復(fù)制。嗯，一組機(jī)械工程專業(yè)的學(xué)生從瑞士蘇黎世聯(lián)邦理工學(xué)院已經(jīng)做到了這一點(diǎn) - 再加上他們給了一組額外的散熱片，使得它也將直上直下

被譽(yù)為Sepios的機(jī)器人。第一次向公眾透露。去年5月

每四個(gè)鰭含有9線，每一個(gè)其中具有運(yùn)動(dòng)的270度的范圍內(nèi)，并通過其自身的伺服電機(jī)啟動(dòng)。那些翅片加入到包含一個(gè)機(jī)械魚鰾，這允許機(jī)器人保持給定的深度通過調(diào)節(jié)其浮力的中心體。

其它星星點(diǎn)點(diǎn)在該機(jī)構(gòu)包括（或最終將包括）一個(gè)活流式攝像機(jī)，水壓

深度傳感器，激光距離測(cè)量硬件，并捆綁加速度計(jì)，陀螺儀和磁強(qiáng)計(jì)，這是用于姿態(tài)控制。整個(gè)機(jī)器人的提示鱗為2270千克（50磅）.

一次充電機(jī)器人的電池組的允許它運(yùn)行了相當(dāng)可觀的90分鐘，下降最多的10米（33英尺）.

由于其隱身性和機(jī)動(dòng)性，該小組已建議Sepios可能是特別適合于觀察和拍攝的海洋生物。你可以看到在行動(dòng)的機(jī)器人，在下面的視頻

對(duì)于水下機(jī)器人，利用波狀鰭片的另一個(gè)例子，看看美國(guó)西北大學(xué)的黑色鬼魂刀魚啟發(fā)GhostBot