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.

自動翻譯僅供參考

受墨魚啟發研制Sepios水下全方位機器人 Omnidirectional水下機器人的靈感來自于cuttlefish

Sepios可以向任何方向移動，這要歸功于它的四個仿生起伏片

圖片廊（5圖像）

墨魚是迷人的動物，在那他們使用一對波狀鰭片的前進，后退，打開點，或將鼠標懸停到位。如果你想使水下機器人是高機動性而又安靜，不受糾結螺旋槳，那么烏賊將是一個很好的生物復制。嗯，一組機械工程專業的學生從瑞士蘇黎世聯邦理工學院已經做到了這一點 - 再加上他們給了一組額外的散熱片，使得它也將直上直下

被譽為Sepios的機器人。第一次向公眾透露。去年5月

每四個鰭含有9線，每一個其中具有運動的270度的范圍內，并通過其自身的伺服電機啟動。那些翅片加入到包含一個機械魚鰾，這允許機器人保持給定的深度通過調節其浮力的中心體。

其它星星點點在該機構包括（或最終將包括）一個活流式攝像機，水壓

深度傳感器，激光距離測量硬件，并捆綁加速度計，陀螺儀和磁強計，這是用于姿態控制。整個機器人的提示鱗為2270千克（50磅）.

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

由于其隱身性和機動性，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。你可以看到在行動的機器人，在下面的視頻

對于水下機器人，利用波狀鰭片的另一個例子，看看美國西北大學的黑色鬼魂刀魚啟發GhostBot