BlueGuppy: A Maneuverable and Controllable Fish-like Robot

Abstract

Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) and Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV) are essential for a wide range of applications, including deep-sea exploration, environmental monitoring, and sea-bed surveying for valuable minerals such as rare earth elements. Understanding fish locomotion is crucial for designing energy-efficient marine robotic vehicles that can travel either on the surface of or under the water without any human operators on board. This work introduces a low-cost miniature fish-like robot, BlueGuppy, that can swim up to approximately three body lengths per second and can turn with its sole actuator. First, we detail its hardware design, emphasizing the rationale behind specific design choices. Second, we perform both straight-line and turning experiments demonstrating how swimming speed scales with flapping frequency and how temporally asymmetric flapping enables controlled turning. Finally, we present ongoing efforts to develop a Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller framework for the robotic fish using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and WiFi as a means of communication. This BlueGuppy project highlights the potential of free-swimming robotic models in advancing our understanding of fluid-swarm interactions within biological collectives and inspiring the development of next-generation marine robotic vehicles.