Using Springy Supporting Frame on Posterior Region on Tuna-like Carangiform Robotic Fish

Overview

Robotic fish for ocean exploration face challenges of low energy efficiency. Traditional propeller propulsion systems consume high energy and cause significant disturbance to marine life. Inspired by tuna carangiform swimming, this study developed an innovative elastic supporting frame system for the tail region, simulating the irregular swinging pattern of real fish tails. The elastic frame can store and release energy during the tail fin oscillation cycle, accelerating the swing when the tail fin has a large angle with the central axis and decelerating when the angle is small, thereby significantly improving propulsion efficiency. This research systematically designed a control system based on ESP32 microcontroller, using a 5V servo motor (45g torque) to drive the tail through fishing lines, combined with elastic PETG plastic and spring steel frames. Experiments tested the effects of supporting frames with different elastic coefficients, lengths, thicknesses and shapes on swimming speed and energy efficiency. Results show that optimized elastic frame configurations can improve swimming speed by 15-20% and energy efficiency by approximately 12% compared to rigid frames. This research provides a new technical solution for long-distance ocean exploration and marine life tracking.

Competition history

• CSEF 2026 Applied Mechanics (Senior Division) · Entry S-02-12

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