Design and experimental study of a bionic lobster soft robot based on dielectric elastomer

In response to the need for marine microplastic litter cleanup, we developed a multifunctional bionic lobster soft-bodied robot capable of executing multiple motion modes such as ascending, descending, advancing, and avoiding obstacles in the water. The soft robot was designed with a bionic shrimp crayfish in its head, which has the function of gripping underwater trash. Its dimensions are 220 × 80 × 80 mm and its weight is 17.8 g. In the water, the average descent speed is 28.7 mm/s, the maximum ascent speed is 23.36 mm/s, and the maximum underwater forward speed is 8.41 mm/s. In this paper, not only the overall force of the soft robot is analyzed, but also the structural optimization of the swimmer’s foot is carried out through finite element hydrodynamic simulation, and the hydrodynamic simulation is carried out through fluid dynamics (CFD) was verified. The results show that the arch-shaped swimming foot has the highest propulsion efficiency of 37.16 %. Compared with other underwater soft robots, our bionic lobster soft robot has significant advantages such as fast speed, diverse motion modes, and strong adaptability to the underwater environment.