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  4. Asymmetric fin shape changes swimming dynamics of ancient marine reptiles' soft robophysical models
 
research article

Asymmetric fin shape changes swimming dynamics of ancient marine reptiles' soft robophysical models

Sprumont, Hadrien
•
Allione, Federico
•
Schwab, Fabian
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July 1, 2024
Bioinspiration & Biomimetics

Animals have evolved highly effective locomotion capabilities in terrestrial, aerial, and aquatic environments. Over life's history, mass extinctions have wiped out unique animal species with specialized adaptations, leaving paleontologists to reconstruct their locomotion through fossil analysis. Despite advancements, little is known about how extinct megafauna, such as the Ichthyosauria one of the most successful lineages of marine reptiles, utilized their varied morphologies for swimming. Traditional robotics struggle to mimic extinct locomotion effectively, but the emerging soft robotics field offers a promising alternative to overcome this challenge. This paper aims to bridge this gap by studying Mixosaurus locomotion with soft robotics, combining material modeling and biomechanics in physical experimental validation. Combining a soft body with soft pneumatic actuators, the soft robotic platform described in this study investigates the correlation between asymmetrical fins and buoyancy by recreating the pitch torque generated by extinct swimming animals. We performed a comparative analysis of thrust and torque generated by Carthorhyncus, Utatsusaurus, Mixosaurus, Guizhouichthyosaurus, and Ophthalmosaurus tail fins in a flow tank. Experimental results suggest that the pitch torque on the torso generated by hypocercal fin shapes such as found in model systems of Guizhouichthyosaurus, Mixosaurus and Utatsusaurus produce distinct ventral body pitch effects able to mitigate the animal's non-neutral buoyancy. This body pitch control effect is particularly pronounced in Guizhouichthyosaurus, which results suggest would have been able to generate high ventral pitch torque on the torso to compensate for its positive buoyancy. By contrast, homocercal fin shapes may not have been conducive for such buoyancy compensation, leaving torso pitch control to pectoral fins, for example. Across the range of the actuation frequencies of the caudal fins tested, resulted in oscillatory modes arising, which in turn can affect the for-aft thrust generated.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1088/1748-3190/ad3f5e
Web of Science ID

WOS:001215805400001

Author(s)
Sprumont, Hadrien
Allione, Federico
Schwab, Fabian
Wang, Bingcheng
Mucignat, Claudio
Lunati, Ivan
Scheyer, Torsten
Ijspeert, Auke  
Jusufi, Ardian
Date Issued

2024-07-01

Publisher

Bristol

Published in
Bioinspiration & Biomimetics
Volume

19

Issue

4

Article Number

046005

Subjects

Technology

•

Robot

•

Tail

•

Swim

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
BIOROB  
FunderGrant Number

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Frderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschunghttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001711

Available on Infoscience
May 16, 2024
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/208010
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