The Tunabot, a tuna-like experimental robotic platform, provides insights into the dynamics of high-performance aquatic locomotion. Tuna and related scombrid fishes are high-performance swimmers that often operate at high frequencies, especially during behaviors such as escaping from predators or catching prey. This contrasts with most fish-like robotic systems that typically operate at low frequencies (< 2 hertz). To explore the high-frequency fish swimming performance space, we designed and tested a new platform based on yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) and Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus). Body kinematics, speed, and power were measured at increasing tail beat frequencies to quantify swimming performance and to study flow fields generated by the tail. Experimental analyses of freely swimming tuna and mackerel allow comparison with the tuna-like robotic system. The Tunabot (255 millimeters long) can achieve a maximum tail beat frequency of 15 hertz, which corresponds to a swimming speed of 4.0 body lengths per second. Comparison of midline kinematics between scombrid fish and the Tunabot shows good agreement over a wide range of frequencies, with the biggest discrepancy occurring at the caudal fin, primarily due to the rigid propulsor used in the robotic model. As frequency increases, cost of transport (COT) follows a fish-like U-shaped response with a minimum at ~1.6 body lengths per second. The Tunabot has a range of ~9.1 kilometers if it swims at 0.4 meter per second or ~4.2 kilometers at 1.0 meter per second, assuming a 10–watt-hour battery pack. These results highlight the capabilities of high-frequency biological swimming and lay the foundation to explore a fish-like performance space for bio-inspired underwater vehicles.

中文翻译：

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金枪鱼机器人技术：探索游泳鱼类性能空间的高频实验平台

Tunabot是一个类似于金枪鱼的实验性机器人平台，可提供有关高性能水上运动动力学的见解。金枪鱼和相关的混养鱼是高性能的游泳者，经常在高频率下工作，尤其是在诸如逃避捕食者或捕获猎物的行为中。这与通常在低频（<2赫兹）下运行的大多数类似鱼的机器人系统形成对比。为了探索高频鱼游的表演空间，我们设计并测试了一个基于黄鳍金枪鱼（金枪鱼albacares）和大西洋鲭鱼（Scomber scombrus）的新平台。在增加的尾巴拍打频率下测量身体运动学，速度和力量，以量化游泳表现并研究由尾巴产生的流场。对金枪鱼和鲭鱼自由游泳的实验分析可以与类似金枪鱼的机器人系统进行比较。金枪鱼（255毫米长）可以实现15赫兹的最大甩尾频率，相当于每秒4.0体长的游泳速度。鱼与金枪鱼之间的中线运动学比较表明，在很宽的频率范围内都具有良好的一致性，其中最大的差异发生在尾鳍上，这主要归因于机器人模型中使用的刚性推进器。随着频率的增加，运输成本（COT）呈鱼形U形响应，最小响应速度为每秒约1.6体长。假设使用10瓦时的电池组，那么金枪鱼以每秒0.4米的速度游泳时约为9.1公里，而以每秒1.0米的速度游泳则约为4.2公里。