CyberDiver: An untethered robotic impactor for water-entry experiments
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: We present the CyberDiver, an untethered robotic impactor capable of actively modulating the fluid physics during high-speed water entry. First, we utilize the CyberDiver to extend our understanding of the water entry of passively flexible systems, designing a high-bandwidth controller that enables the CyberDiver to operate as a cyber–physical system that permits an arbitrary programmable structural coupling to be experimentally tested. Onboard sensors record the body acceleration during impact and reveal that the introduction of damping or a nonlinear force-versus-displacement structural law can significantly reduce impact loading as compared to a linear elastic case, with implications for damage mitigation in aerospace and naval applications. Next, by operating the CyberDiver in a displacement control mode, we demonstrate that the splash size can be dramatically altered depending on the parameters of an active maneuver, laying a groundwork for better understanding the techniques of human competitive divers. • Developed an untethered cyber–physical robotic impactor for water-entry experiments. • Structural damping or nonlinear compliance can reduce impact loading. • Splash size can be altered via an active maneuver at the moment of impact.
Source: Journal of Fluids and Structures
Authors: John T. Antolik, Eli A. Silver, Jesse L. Belden, Daniel M. Harris
Institutions: Brown University, NUWC Newport Division
Language: English
Subfield: Computational Mechanics
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,740
Award: G2862995975
OpenAlex ID: W4416544969