Triboelectric Bionic Tail-Fin Shaped Flexible Sensor for Proprioception

With the acceleration of the development of underwater resources, biomimetic robotic fish have emerged as a research hotspot due to their exceptional mobility and biocompatibility. In this paper, we propose a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG)-based forked-tail-shaped proprioceptive sensor (FTPS) that mimics the shape of a fish's tail. The sensor aims to improve the proprioceptive ability of bionic robotic fish (BRF) in complex flow field environments. The FTPS consists of four sensing units arranged on the bionic flexible tail fin. It has good sensing effect on the swing amplitude, swing frequency and water depth of the tail fin. The stable output of the FTPS after a long period of swinging confirms the durability and stability of the FTPS, which will provide a more accurate body sensing method for BRF in underwater operation.