Experimental and numerical study on subsea swimming gait for a shoal crab robot

Aiming at automatic monitoring and working in shoal environment, we conceive a shoal crab robot equipped with paddle actuators mimicking the locomotion of Portunus crab. The synergetic motion of two paddles on the robot is investigated numerically and experimentally for the generation of subsea swimming gait, which provides a new way of thinking and choice for further research on the bionics multi-legged amphibious robot. The primary focus of our study is related specifically to propose an alternate sculling gait based on lift-based swimming mode as the subsea swimming gait for the robot. Moreover, its hydrodynamic analysis is performed by CFD method and the motion tests have been carried out in the Ship Maneuverability Laboratory (HEU) Water Tunnel.