SALP: Salp-inspired Approach to Low-Energy Propulsion

Jet propulsion is a locomotion mode commonly found in biological swimmers, including cephalopods and tunicates such as squids, cuttlefish, and salps. We are developing a soft salp-inspired robotic system to study mechanisms that produce greater locomotion agility and energetic efficiency.

Salps are barrel-shaped marine invertebrates that swim via jet propulsion. They move forward by rapidly changing the volumes of their body cavity, drawing water into their muscular mantle cavity through the front aperture, and then expelling it under high pressure through the rear funnel. We aim to leverage the unique biomechanics of salps to inform the development of energy-efficient, maneuverable underwater robots capable of environmental sensing in complex marine environments.

Salps can swim either as solitary jet-propelled individuals or while physically connected in a multi-jet colony, commonly known as a “salp chain”. Inspired by salps, we develop the SALP (Salp-inspired Approach to Low-energy Propulsion) robot, a soft underwater robot that swims via jet propulsion similarly to a biological salp.

Version 1: Origami Swimmer

Traditional soft robots use flexible materials for shape change but require complex fabrication. To simplify this, we used an origami-inspired design, which allows the robot to fold from flat sheets into 3D shapes, making it easier to store, transport, and assemble in just a few hours. The robot mimics squid locomotion using the origami magic ball pattern, which transforms between an ellipsoid and a sphere. This enables it to expand and contract, pulling in and expelling water to create a jet for propulsion. A tendon mechanism in its spine controls its length. Ongoing effects focus on evaluating different configurations’ effect (e.g. adding a front nozzle) on the performance of the robot and understanding the underlying dynamics of it.

Mechanism demo

Robot swimming

Version 2: Multi-Robot SALP Robot Platform for Long-Term Distributed Sensing

We have optimized the jetting robot design to enable higher thrust and lower drag. The SALP robot is now modular in the sense that the robots can be manually attached to each other in different physical arrangements to study the effect of multi-robot interactions on locomotion performance. Physically connected SALP chains coordinate their jets to achieve various propulsion modes. We are interested in investigating how physical arrangement and jet coordination between two robots affect the swimming performance and energy efficiency of a two-SALP robotic system. We aim to gain insights into the potential hydrodynamic benefits of multi-jet propulsion by exploring how different coordination strategies influence the surrounding flow environment.

Leveraging Fluid-Structure Interactions for Efficient Control in Geophysical Flows

Micro-vehicles are cost-effective platforms for robotics and automation, excelling in maneuverability and adaptability in diverse environments. However, their lightweight and limited computational capacity pose control challenges. Using our underwater platform, we aim to understand fluid-structure interactions to enhance design and control, resulting in more efficient micro-vehicles with extended lifespans. This effort is a collaborative project focusing on fluid dynamics, control theory, and reconfiguration planning. The project aims to leverage environmental forces for power efficiency, investigating morphological adaptations and passive transport properties. It seeks to synthesize motion control strategies considering inertial effects and fluid-structure interactions while exploring efficiency trade-offs. Ultimately, it aims to enhance micro-autonomous vehicles’ capabilities for long-term operations and future large-scale deploy.

Related Publications

Effect of Jet Coordination on Underwater Propulsion with the Multi-Robot SALP System

Yang, Zhiyuan; Zhang, Yipeng; Herbert, Matthew; Hsieh, M. Ani; Sung, Cynthia

Effect of Jet Coordination on Underwater Propulsion with the Multi-Robot SALP System (Conference)

8th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft 2025), Forthcoming.

(Abstract | BibTeX | Links: )

Drag coefficient characterization of the origami magic ball

Chen, Guanyu; Chen, Dongsheng; Weakly, Jessica; Sung, Cynthia

Drag coefficient characterization of the origami magic ball (Proceedings Article)

In: ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference (IDETC/CIE), pp. DETC2023-117182, 2023.

(Abstract | BibTeX | Links: )

Origami-inspired robot that swims via jet propulsion

Yang, Zhiyuan; Chen, Dongsheng; Levine, David J.; Sung, Cynthia

Origami-inspired robot that swims via jet propulsion (Journal Article)

In: IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 7145-7152, 2021.

(Abstract | BibTeX | Links: )

Current Personnel

  • Dongsheng Chen (MEAM PhD)
  • Zhiyuan (Annie) Yang (MEAM PhD)
  • Ryan Stanford (MEAM Undergrad)
  • Benedict Onyekwe (ROBO Master's)
  • Jingshuo Li (MEAM Master's)
  • Neel Mulay (MEAM Master's)

Past Personnel

  • Adithya Selvakumar (ESE Undergrad)
  • Guanyu Chen (MEAM Master's)
  • Yipeng Zhang (MEAM Master's)
  • Yunyi Chu (MEAM Master's)
  • Zhiyuan (Annie) Yang (MEAM, MCIT Master's)

Acknowledgments

The project “Leveraging Fluid-Structure Interactions for Efficient Control in Geophysical Flows” is in collaboration with Ani Hsieh’s lab from University of Pennsylvania, Eric Forgoston’s lab from Montclair State University, and Philip Yecko’s lab from The Cooper Union.

These projects have been supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant No. 2121887 and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) award #N00014-23-1-2068. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of funding source.