Departmental Seminar

Metachronal locomotion involves sequential tail-to-head appendage movements with a phase lag, seen across various scales and Reynolds numbers (Re). During the power stroke, appendages move opposite to swimming direction with increased surface area, generating drag-based thrust, while the recovery stroke reduces drag, creating net thrust. Though shrimp metachronal swimming is studied for ecological insights and propulsion solutions, mechanisms at the single appendage scale remain underexplored.

This study uses a fully articulated robotic platform mimicking shrimp pleopod kinematics. Its modular design allows testing specific morphological features and is ideal for multi-legged systems. Experiments using kinematics, force, and velocimetry measurements revealed hydrodynamic insights, such as lift generation via a leading-edge vortex during the power stroke. These findings offer bio-inspired robot design guidelines, enhance understanding of metachronal swimmer evolution, and link adaptations to ecological roles.