Design and simulation of amoebot - A Metamorphic Underwater Vehicle

The Metamorphic Underwater Vehicle (MUV) is a vehicle that propels in the water by continuously changing the shape of its body similar to the motion of microorganism Amoebae. In this article, we describe the basic design of Amoebot, a plastic MUV that achieves shape-changing capability through the inflation and deflation of water-filled balloons. A sequence of inflation and deflation procedure can be taken to produce cyclic swimming shapes that propel the MUV. Swimming shapes similar to microorganism Amoebae have been successfully reproduced by present Amoebot. The mechanical system designed proves to be very reliable and flexible in producing desired body shapes. The physical shape of the Amoebot is analyzed numerically and its variation in time during the swim can be expressed explicitly. By formulating sets of idealized swimming rules based on the changing shape, simulations are carried out to predict the trajectory and study the pseudo dynamics of the swimming of Amoebot. Possible applications of this type of underwater vehicle are discussed.