Maneuverability and Heading Control of Compliant Biomimetic Swimming Devices

Biomimetic swimming devices that employ compliant mechanisms have shown promise as an alternative to current biomimetic design approaches that involve the use of complex mechanisms. The additional stealth, ruggedness, and efficiency of this approach means that such devices could perform important tasks such as reconnaissance and underwater mapping. Many of these applications also require high levels of maneuverability and closed-loop control. However, maneuverability and heading control are two areas that are relatively unexplored with regard to such devices. Therefore, in order to study maneuverability and control, this thesis outlines a simple dynamic model to predict the maneuvering behavior of compliant biomimetic swimming devices. A comparison of the model predictions with experimental data is also presented. Lastly, the dynamic model is used to successfully design, simulate and implement a compass-based heading control system. Thesis Supervisor: Kamal Youcef-Toumi Title: Professor of Mechanical Engineering