EFRI C3 SoRo: Model-Based Design and Control of Power-Dense Soft Hydraulic Robots for Demanding and Uncertain Environments (043782)

The research conducted will include: (1) development of a multiphysics analytical and computational approach to model lamprey swimming and climbing that relates the dynamics of a flexible body, wavy motion creation and propagation, (2) development of the design specifications and actuation strategies for inducing optimal locomotion response, (3) experimental tests of the mechanism for locomotion. Toward this, we will develop a functional model of the flexible lamprey-like robot that couples a multiscale mechanics model of the body to a high-fidelity fluid-structure interaction solver.