模仿鸟类肌腱耦合机制，提升划水效率。
Bird-inspired tendon coupling improves paddling efficiency by shortening phase transition times
- 借鉴水鸟肌腱耦合结构，缩短恢复与发力相位转换时间。
- 实验显示效率分别提升2.0倍和2.4倍。
- 适合仿生水下推进器设计，尤其关注高效划水机制。
以划桨式附肢、鳍和蹼足进行阻力型游泳是水生动物广泛采用的运动方式。为开发高效的水下航行器，已有多种仿生阻力型桨叶被提出，但普遍存在推进效率与适应性之间的权衡。蹼足在发力相中提供有效推进力，重量轻且坚固，还能在回收相部分折叠。然而，其在恢复相与发力相之间的折叠与展开过程耗时较长，造成额外阻力并降低效率。本文受水鸟肌腱耦合结构启发，采用肌腱耦合机制缩短相位转换时间。硬件实验表明，该设计相较无伸肌腱结构或被动桨叶设计，推进效率分别提升2.0倍和2.4倍。此外，尽管远端腿部关节锁止在陆地行走中可提高效率，但在游泳中未表现出显著作用。综上，本研究提出一种新型高效阻力型腿与桨叶设计原理，对水鸟游泳机理具有潜在启示意义。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Drag-based swimming with rowing appendages, fins, and webbed feet is a widely adapted locomotion form in aquatic animals. To develop effective underwater and swimming vehicles, a wide range of bioinspired drag-based paddles have been proposed, often faced with a trade-off between propulsive efficiency and versatility. Webbed feet provide an effective propulsive force in the power phase, are light weight and robust, and can even be partially folded away in the recovery phase. However, during the transition between recovery and power phase, much time is lost folding and unfolding, leading to drag and reducing efficiency. In this work, we took inspiration from the coupling tendons of aquatic birds and utilized tendon coupling mechanisms to shorten the transition time between recovery and power phase. Results from our hardware experiments show that the proposed mechanisms improve propulsive efficiency by 2.0 and 2.4 times compared to a design without extensor tendons or based on passive paddle, respectively. We further report that distal leg joint clutching, which has been shown to improve efficiency in terrestrial walking, did not play an major role in swimming locomotion. In sum, we describe a new principle for an efficient, drag-based leg and paddle design, with potential relevance for the swimming mechanics in aquatic birds.
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