It is possible that micro aerial vehicle (MAV) designs of the future will exploit flapping flight in order to perform missions that require extreme agility, such as rapid flight beneath a forest canopy or within the confines of a building. Many of nature's most agile flyers generate flapping motions through resonant excitation of an aeroelastically tailored structure: muscle tissue is used to excite a vibratory mode of their flexible wing structure that creates propulsion and lift. A number of MAV concepts have been proposed that would operate in a similar fashion. This paper describes an ongoing research activity in which mechanization and control concepts with application to resonant flapping MAVs are being explored. Structural approaches, mechanical design, sensing and wing beat control concepts inspired by hummingbirds, bats and insects are examined. Experimental results from a testbed capable of generating vibratory wing beat patterns that approximately match those exhibited by hummingbirds in hover, cruise, and reverse flight are presented.


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    Title :

    Mechanization and Control Concepts for Biologically Inspired Micro Aerial Vehicles


    Contributors:

    Publication date :

    2004


    Size :

    16 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English