Data Acquisition of Obstacle Shapes for Fish Robots

It is important to get information about obstacles to avoid collision for a natural and smooth movement for fish robots. In this paper, we propose an IR sensor-based measurement system which gets information about obstacles for underwater fish robots. Due to complexity and space restriction, IR distance sensors are installed instead of cameras or sonar systems. Much importance is given to the nearby obstacles than those in the distance. A scanning IR sensor and two fixed IR sensors are used in our proposed system to get the pattern information of the obstacles in water. By analyzing the IR sensor data, the estimated shapes of obstacles are recognized. Trajectory control for underwater robots should be designed based on the estimated results of the shapes. Our experimental results show that fish robots, which use our proposed sensor system, make successful movement avoiding collision through channels. Key-Words: Fish Robot, Obstacle Shapes, Collision Avoidance, IR Distance Sensor