INCOSE NSWG Community of Practice Webinar
Chair: George Studor — Co-chair: Curt McNamara
nswg-info@incose.org https://sites.google.com/site/incosenswg/
Jellyfish Node and Colonies: Modeling Biological Structure and
Behavior, System Architecture Design and Implementation
Shashank Priya, Alex Villanueva, Kenneth Marut, Tyler Michael, and Colin Stewart,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA
Abstract--A biomimetic robot inspired by Cyanea capillata (jellyfish), termed as “Cyro”, was developed to meet the functional demands of underwater surveillance in defense and civilian applications. The swimming kinematics of the C. capillata were analyzed after extracting the required kinematics from the in situ video. A discrete model of the exumbrella was developed and used to analyze the kinematics. Cyro was designed to mimic the morphology and swimming mechanism of the natural counterpart. The body of the vehicle consists of a rigid support structure with linear DC motors which actuate eight mechanical arms. The mechanical arms in conjunction with artificial mesoglea create the hydrodynamic force required for propulsion.
Jellyfish characteristics were modeled in several dimensions, including mechanical arm kinematics, bell kinematics, feeding structures, and types of movement. These models were used to develop a underwater robot, named Robojelly, that emulated the various swimming and other behavioral characteristics of jellyfish. Performance was examined as a function of varying several types of characteristics, e.g., whether and how the arms 'flapped,' and swimming at different velocities.
The presentation will discuss the development process, the Robojelly architecture and systems, results achieved, potential future research dimensions, and possible implications for future underwater vehicles.
Acknowledgements: This research was sponsored by Office of Naval Research through the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program. The authors would like to thank the MURI team for their input and suggestions on various aspects of this research.
Biography--Dr. Shashank Priya is currently a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech. His research is focused in the areas related to multifunctional materials, energy and bio-inspired systems. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed journal papers and more than 50 conference proceedings covering these topics. Additionally, he has published four book chapters, holds five US patents, and edited or co-edited five books. He is the founder and chair of the Annual Energy Harvesting Workshop series and the Energy Summit. He is currently serving as the chief editor of the journal “Energy Harvesting and Systems”, is on the editorial board of the journal integrated ferroelectrics, and is an advisory board member for the journal of dielectrics. He is also serving as the member of the Honorary Chair Committee for the International Workshop on Piezoelectric Materials and Applications (IWPMA). Dr. Shashank has received several awards including: Alumni award for excellence in Research 2014, Fellow American Ceramic Society 2013, Turner Fellowship 2012, Dean’s Research Excellence Award 2011, and AFOSR Young Investigator Award.
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Past NSWG Webinars & IW2014 Workshop presentations at https://sites.google.com/site/incosenswg
Contact George Studor or Curt McNamara at nswg-info@incose.org