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Ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) is an ideal material for underwater biomimetic robots. Its softness is very helpful
for generating biomimetic motion. Because IPMCs naturally contain water they do not require extra sealing. The
resulting robot can be soft and lightweight. Previous research on swimming robots is focused on robots swimming in
water. In our study we compare the suitability of two different locomotion patterns - tail oscillation and body undulation,
for swimming in viscous fluid. We found that in water both patterns could propel the robot by generating vortices behind
the robot body. In viscous fluid the robot could be propelled only by body undulation without much disturbance of
nearby fluid. Unlike tail oscillation, the whole body undulation was shown to be a suitable pattern for locomotion in both
water and viscous fluid.
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Boyko L. Stoimenov, Jonathan Rossiter, Toshiharu Mukai, "Soft ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) robot swimming in viscous fluid," Proc. SPIE 7287, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2009, 72872B (6 April 2009); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.818705