January 7, 2015Omnidirectional underwater robot inspired by the cuttlefish

Sepios can move in any direction, thanks to its four bio-inspired undulating fins

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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.

受墨鱼启发研制Sepios水下全方位机器人

1月7日，2015Omnidirectional水下机器人的灵感来自于cuttlefish

Sepios可以向任何方向移动，这要归功于它的四个仿生起伏片

图片廊（5图像）

墨鱼是迷人的动物，在那他们使用一对波状鳍片的前进，后退，打开点，或将鼠标悬停到位。如果你想使水下机器人是高机动性而又安静，不受纠结螺旋桨，那么乌贼将是一个很好的生物复制。嗯，一组机械工程专业的学生从瑞士苏黎世联邦理工学院已经做到了这一点 - 再加上他们给了一组额外的散热片，使得它也将直上直下

被誉为Sepios的机器人。第一次向公众透露。去年5月

每四个鳍含有9线，每一个其中具有运动的270度的范围内，并通过其自身的伺服电机启动。那些翅片加入到包含一个机械鱼鳔，这允许机器人保持给定的深度通过调节其浮力的中心体。

其它星星点点在该机构包括（或最终将包括）一个活流式摄像机，水压

深度传感器，激光距离测量硬件，并捆绑加速度计，陀螺仪和磁强计，这是用于姿态控制。整个机器人的提示鳞为2270千克（50磅）.

一次充电机器人的电池组的允许它运行了相当可观的90分钟，下降最多的10米（33英尺）.

由于其隐身性和机动性，该小组已建议Sepios可能是特别适合于观察和拍摄的海洋生物。你可以看到在行动的机器人，在下面的视频

对于水下机器人，利用波状鳍片的另一个例子，看看美国西北大学的黑色鬼魂刀鱼启发GhostBot