ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an innovative concept for the gliding underwater robots, namely, a gliding robotic dolphin, to implement both high maneuverability and long endurance. First, the system developments of four newly designed gliding robotic dolphins, including their overview and detailed electromechanical scheme, are offered. Besides, computational fluid dynamics simulations are conducted to analyze the hydrodynamics, assisting in optimizing the shape design to improve gliding efficiency. Finally, extensive aquatic experiments are carried out to validate the effectiveness of the designed gliding underwater robot, and the obtained results show that the gliding robotic dolphins can successfully achieve both the gliding and dolphin-like motions, providing a novel idea for the future application of gliding underwater robots.
