Costanza Armanini

Costanza Armanini received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in civil engineering from the University of Trento, Italy, in 2011 and 2014, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in civil, environmental, and mechanical engineering from the University of Trento, Italy, in 2018. She is currently a Post doctoral Fellow with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Her research interests include the modeling of bodies undergoing large deflections and the harnessing of the involved instabilities and nonlinearities for the development of novel technologies, with a special focus on soft robotics applications. 

This presentation introduces a bioinspired underwater robot propeller that draws inspiration from flagellated bacteria. These prokaryotic microorganisms sport a vast repertoire of swimming strategies mediated by subtle differences in the structure and kinematics of the flagellum, which ultimately enable efficient propulsion. Flagella are an interesting case study in soft robotics because they closely resemble, from a morphological and dynamics perspective, some of the archetypal continuum manipulators. This, along with the simplicity of their actuation and the richness of their dynamics makes them a valuable source of inspiration to design continuum, self-propelled underwater robots.

The soft propeller’s design leverages the compliance of its body to passively adjust its shape in response to the fluid environment, generating stable helical waves that propel the robot forward. We investigate the relationship between geometry, actuation frequency, and material elasticity in optimizing the robot's thrust output. We finally demonstrate through a series of experiments that the soft propeller is capable of efficient and agile propulsion in underwater environments.