Performance

Optimization

Three driving speeds and two types of caudal fins were tested for Roboswimimer to optimize the performance.

As shown in the table, there is a best driving speed for each size of caudal fins. A large caudal fin and Fast driving speed were chosen for the competition.

The ability of self-deployment was also considered for Roboswimimer. Inspired by a real fish, Roboswimimer have the ability to sit on its side and flap to push itself around. The following video demonstrates the self-deployment of Roboswimimer.

Final Race

With all the optimization applied to Roboswimimer. The robot was able to swim through a 45'' long fish tank for 22 sec. Roboswimimer also became the only robot in this race that has functional on-board powering and controlling when operating underwater.

Improvement

In the initial design, Roboswimimer has the capability of doing buoyancy control. The robot was designed to sink underwater and use a balloon to supply a controllable floating force. The balloon will also help Roboswimimer stay in a  "back-up" position after self-deployment. However, the sealed chamber, made to hold all electronics, supplies too much floating force and stops the Roboswimimer from sinking underwater. In the future, the team will add weight and balloon to Roboswimimer to help it gain the capability of buoyancy control.

Another factor that can be improved is the head-to-body ratio of Roboswimimer. In the current design, to fit the servo and all electronics on board. The head-to-tail ratio was made to 1:1. This ratio significantly reduces the swimming speed of Roboswimimer because it can not swim with its body. By increasing the body area, Roboswimimer should gain more speed from the sinusoidal movement.