Design of a Sensor–Actuator Integrated Flexible Pectoral Fin for Bioinspired Manta Robots

To meet the practical application requirements of underwater biomimetic robots, this paper presents the design of a flexible pectoral fin with integrated sensing and actuation capabilities, based on a “material-structure-function” integrated approach. The sensor film is embedded into the pectoral fin via an embedded cast-molding method, ensuring synchronized deformation and long-term cyclic stability. Experimental results demonstrate that the integrated pectoral fin can accurately perceive its own bending deformation and external environmental disturbances, enabling corresponding obstacle avoidance maneuvers in a manta robot prototype. This design strategy endows the manta robot with environmental adaptability for real-world applications and offers a novel paradigm for the intelligent design of other underwater equipment.