Employing Robotics for the Biomechanical Validation of a Prosthetic Flipper for Sea Turtles as a Substitute for Animal Clinical Trials

Abstract

Sea turtles are a keystone species for the ocean’s ecosystem, with all species currently being listed as endangered. Such a threat is mainly due to human factors such as fishing net entanglement. This entanglement often comes at the expense of turtles losing a pectoral flipper. The reduction in a sea turtle’s survival odds upon losing a flipper is a significant concern. This issue extends beyond individual animals, as the potential extinction of sea turtles could have detrimental effects on ocean health and subsequently disrupt our lifestyles. In this work, with the help of robotics, we tested the suitability of a prosthetic flipper for sea turtles that have lost a flipper. Testing with our sea-turtle-inspired robot helped to demonstrate the prosthetic flipper’s performance without clinical trials in live animals. The robot showed that the prosthetic could closely mimic the sea turtle’s downstroke and upstroke, allowing the animal to regain control in roll, pitch, and yaw, despite the absence of anatomical joints and related muscles. Additionally, swim speed tests provided an average swim speed of 0.487 m/s while dragging 6 m of cable to give a calculated maximum swim speed of 0.618 m/s, coming close to the average swim speed of wild sea turtles of 0.6 m/s. Our aspiration is that the findings from this study will pave the way for an open-source implant design, empowering veterinary professionals globally to aid injured turtles. Furthermore, this research promises to inspire additional animal-based robotic designs, advancing technologies geared towards assisting other animals in distress.