Significant part of the Earth is made of water provenience of lakes, rivers, and oceans, most of them still unexplored. Underwater robots have begun to revolutionize seabed exploration, generally providing better information at a lower cost. The propulsion system of an underwater robot ultimately defines the types of movements and maneuvers it can perform. In the design of propulsion systems, aspects such as energy consumption, robot hardware, and the effects on the marine environment should be considered. Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are robots that navigate based on algorithms and surrounding information. They are equipped with multiple advanced sensors to carry out exploration, operations of intelligence, and reconnaissance, as well as maritime research and development. AUVs are important for oceanography for exploration and collecting data. There are a variety of vehicles with different sizes, shapes, working depth limits, energy sources, and methods of propulsion; about 155 unique configurations exist which are in different stages of development and are being used for scientific, commercial, oceanographic, and military applications.

The main components of underwater vehicles are the cabin or hull, sensor systems, energy source, and the propulsion system. Communications systems are challenging for AUVs due to constraints not found in other environments; autonomous systems are based on acoustic sensors. The more conventional propulsion systems mentioned in recent work are propellers, water gliders, injections, magnetohydrodynamic impellers, traction with the seabed, and bio-inspired systems. In underwater robotics, bio-inspired design is expected to improve energy efficiency, maneuverability, and stability. Researchers have found propellers to be significant sources of pollution of underwater environments, increasing the mortality of marine creatures and ecosystem disturbances. On the other side, biomimetic robots harmonize with the environment and are expected to be quieter, more maneuverable, and provoke fewer accidents.

Biomimetic AUVs (BAUVs) are based on fish physiology, having fins with a degree of freedom placed vertically or horizontally on the back of the underwater vehicle. In all designs published so far, the thrust is applied in only one direction. There are previous studies on BAUVs mimicking diverse types of fishes and locomotion systems. There are no parallel mechanisms used to control biomimetic propulsion as a caudal fin that have been reported previously. In this work, we introduce a novel design of a BAUV with a bio-inspired propulsion system based on a 3UCU-1S (3 universal–cylindrical–universal and 1 spherical joint) parallel mechanism that allows vectored thrust. The authors consider that the concepts introduced in this paper are a step forward for improved maneuverability and energy efficiency. a novel BAUV design that employs a parallel mechanism to manipulate the position of a caudal fin was developed. The proposed propulsion system allows for the use of different types of swimming, e.g., vertical like a tuna and horizontal like a dolphin. Moreover, it is possible to use intermediate orientations of the fin and have a thrusted vector. These features will increase the maneuverability of the vehicle. Future work will also include underwater dynamics simulations, advanced control strategies for the desired path planning, as well as physical tests with the prototype. To give more autonomy to the vehicle, a reliable communication system needs to be designed and implemented. The graphical user interface will be evolving along with the improvements and implementation of the prototype.

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