Modeling and Motion Control of Underwater Snake Robot

To address the autonomous swimming difficulty of an underwater snake robot in a complex underwater environment, this study designed an underwater snake robot mechanism. A kinematic model was established based on the snake motion mechanism, and a motion control method based on fuzzy control and a central pattern generator(CPG) was proposed. The CPG model was constructed by several Hopf oscillators with double-coupled chain network structure after the stability analysis of the limit cycle in a single Hopf oscillator model, and a fuzzy controller and the CPG model were introduced to form a closed-loop control network. The simulation and experiment of an underwater snake robot were carried out. The prototype can complete the experiments of linear meandering movement, left and right turning movement, and U-shaped movement. The experimental results show that the underwater snake robot not only has good stability but also can maintain superior flexibility and maneuverability in the three motion modes.