鳥に着想を得た腱連結がフェーズ遷移時間を短縮しパドリング効率を向上させる
Bird-inspired tendon coupling improves paddling efficiency by shortening phase transition times
水鳥の腱連結機構を模倣し、回復相と推進相の切り替えを速めることで、ドラッグ型パドルの推進効率を最大2.4倍改善した研究。
著者: Jianfeng Lin, Zhao Guo, Alexander Badri-Spröwitz
分類: cs.RO, physics.bio-ph
原文アブストラクト
Drag-based swimming with rowing appendages, fins, and webbed feet is a widely adapted locomotion form in aquatic animals. To develop effective underwater and swimming vehicles, a wide range of bioinspired drag-based paddles have been proposed, often faced with a trade-off between propulsive efficiency and versatility. Webbed feet provide an effective propulsive force in the power phase, are light weight and robust, and can even be partially folded away in the recovery phase. However, during the transition between recovery and power phase, much time is lost folding and unfolding, leading to drag and reducing efficiency. In this work, we took inspiration from the coupling tendons of aquatic birds and utilized tendon coupling mechanisms to shorten the transition time between recovery and power phase. Results from our hardware experiments show that the proposed mechanisms improve propulsive efficiency by 2.0 and 2.4 times compared to a design without extensor tendons or based on passive paddle, respectively. We further report that distal leg joint clutching, which has been shown to improve efficiency in terrestrial walking, did not play an major role in swimming locomotion. In sum, we describe a new principle for an efficient, drag-based leg and paddle design, with potential relevance for the swimming mechanics in aquatic birds.
