Experimental study on oscillating paddling gait of an eccentric paddle mechanism

Eccentric paddle mechanism (ePaddle) is a novel locomotion mechanism designed for amphibious robot. Integrated with several paddles and a wheel, the ePaddle has versatility in locomotion gaits. In this paper, we focus on the aquatic oscillating paddling gait. The conception of the oscillating paddling gait is introduced firstly and followed by the analysis of the oscillation trajectory of the paddles. In order to verify the ability of producing effective thrust force by the oscillating paddling gait, a thrust measuring facility is built. A series of experiments have been carried out with this facility. From the results, we characterize how the amplitude and frequency of the generated net thrust force relate with the amplitude, period of the oscillation of the paddle. Finally, the influence of the number of paddles on the net thrust is analyzed.