Hydrodynamic Analysis with an Artificial Lateral Line of Robotic Fish

The biological characteristics and function of the lateral line system provoke researchers' interest, which gives rise to the development of artificial lateral line of the robotic fish. Exploring an effective closed-loop control method with artificial lateral line is an effective way to improve the propulsion performance of robotic fish. The paper presents an artificial lateral line using 5 high-precision pressure sensors. To verify the effectiveness of the system, a circulation channel is designed and fabricated, which provides continued and fixed speed flow. Using the hydrodynamic simulation and mathematical analysis, the relationship between the flow speed, flow direction and the signal features that extracted from the pressure sensors are explored in uniform flow and vortex flow respectively. The experiments are also conducted to verify the relation. The results of simulation and experiment indicate the effectiveness of the artificial lateral line. This paper may provide a new theoretical basis for the close-loop control research.