Samara Engineers Have Upgraded the Underwater Robot-Perch

Robotics engineers of Samara University has developed an upgraded version of the robot-perch.

Unlike the first version of this underwater bionic drone manufactured at the University in 2023, the upgraded version will receive the improved control system, the higher-quality video camera and the more powerful radio transmitter, which will approximately double the range of the underwater drone and improve its underwater and surface monitoring capabilities.

However, the appearance of the robot will remain the same: it looks like a large sea perch of almost 1 meter long, moving in the water by using a tail fin, just like a live fish.

“The very first version of our drone, which we manufactured and tested two years ago, was essentially the technology demonstrator, a prototype to show in practice the capabilities of an underwater robot with a fin propulsion system that works like the tail fin of a real live fish. At present, we are manufacturing, so to speak, a prototype of the prone “Okun”. The prototype was already equipped with an appropriate electronic stuffing with a video camera, a microprocessor, a vision system, and a transceiver-transmitter, but in the new version, we significantly change the electronics, for example, we install the more powerful radio control and communication system and the more advanced and high-quality video camera. The control range of the device will increase considerably”, said Vladimir Ilyukhin, one of the “Okun” developers, Director of Samara University’s Scientific and Educational Centre for Robotics and Mechatronics.

According to him, the trim control system has also been improved in the upgraded version: the developers want “Okun” to be able to quickly surface, lifting above the water surface its “back”, where the camera lens is located, and then dive just as quickly, if necessary, changing the shooting angle from the surface one to the underwater one, and vice versa. The image from the video camera will be transmitted to the drone operator in the video streaming mode: for this purpose, a separate powerful video-signal transmitter is installed on “Okun”.

“At present, installing the electronic stuffing of the drone is underway, with an important task to achieve complete sealing of the device. We plan to test the upgraded version this year, first in a swimming pool, then in one of water bodies in Samara”, said Vladimir Ilyukhin.

About the development

The underwater drone “Okun” belongs to the class of autonomous uninhabited bionic underwater vehicles, and is designed to operate at a depth of about five meters. Externally, the device is made in the form of a sea perch of 85 cm long, and this is the real size of a real sea perch. The fish-shaped streamlined body is made of plastic by using a 3D printer, and its flexible tail fin is made of polyurethane. The servo drive and two artificial “ligaments” made of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene are responsible for the tail movements. The underwater drone is powered by several lithium batteries.

The fish-shaped hull and the propulsion in the form of a flexible tail fin make it possible to achieve high hydrodynamic parameters: first of all, these are higher indicators of velocity, maneuverability and acceleration. A fish-shaped device requires less energy to move, and, moreover, it is much more difficult to be detected in the water, unlike traditional non-bionic underwater drones.

Because of its developed algorithms, “Okun” is able to independently navigate underwater, and distinguish the targets assigned. When working out the algorithms, artificial intelligence technologies and neural network self-learning methods are used. Depending on its electronic stuffing, “Okun” can perform in future a variety of tasks, for example, such as conducting environmental monitoring, patrolling coastal areas of the sea, assisting in search and rescue operations.

The material is prepared with the support of Russia’s Ministry of Education and Science, in the framework of the Decade of Science and Technology. Even more information on scientific studies by the University scientists is available on the website of the project “Possessed by Science”.