Research of underwater self-reconfigurable system

This article describes a novel underwater robot, which is called underwater self-reconfigurable system (USS). USS is studied and developed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University. It is formed by a quantity of the same modules and works in group. Based on that, USS can change its form while working in the complicated underwater structures according to different tasks. New multi-jaw underwater docking system, piston style regulator and clamshell-like sampling module are designed for USS, these developments address the problems of underwater docking, floating condition adjusting and sampling. Besides, the gaits like wriggle, creeping, swimming and four-legged moving have been successfully implemented in tank and lake test, which verifies the validity of the concept.