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The goal of the project was to develop additional
biomimetic robotic capabilities for Dr. Kathleen
Lamkin-Kennard's Bio Engineering Laboratory using
soft pneumatic actuators, also called McKibben
muscles, hydraulically. These actuators have great
potential for use in many applications including
prosthetics and soft robotics, and a robotic fish
could be used for exploration, surveillance, or
research purposes to study underwater propulsion.
The PRP can be viewed here.
The project resulted in a wirelessly-controlled
robotic fish mimicking Body Caudal Fin locomotion.
It uses the surrounding water as the operating
fluid for its hydraulic muscles, is controlled from
a smartphone via Bluetooth communication, and is
capable of swimming forward and turning using BCF
propulsion. Below, are pictures taken during the
two semesters of Multidisciplinary Senior Design,
including the CAD model at the end of MSDI, the
final product at the end of MSDII, and pictures of
our demonstration at ImagineRIT.
The project was covered by the Democrat &
Chronicle newspaper as part of their preview
for Imagine RIT, and took First Place at the
2014
ASME Student Mechanism and Robot Design
Competition as detailed here.
CAD model and Final Product
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Demonstration @ ImagineRIT
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Project Name
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Robotic Fish Powered by Hydraulic McKibben
Muscles
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Project Number
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P14029
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Project Family
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Biomedical Track
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Start Term
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2131 (Fall 2013)
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End Term
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2135 (Spring 2014)
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Faculty Guide
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Rick Lux, ralddm@rit.edu
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Primary Customer
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Dr. Kathleen Lamkin-Kennard, kaleme@rit.edu
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