Biomechanics of bird flight

Biomechanics of bird flight.

Power output is a unifying theme for bird flight and considerable progress has been accomplished recently in measuring muscular, metabolic and aerodynamic power in birds. The primary flight muscles of birds, the pectoralis and supracoracoideus, are designed for work and power output, with large stress (force per unit cross-sectional area) and strain (relative length change) per contraction. U-s...

Anticipatory Manoeuvres in Bird Flight

It is essential for birds to be agile and aware of their immediate environment, especially when flying through dense foliage. To investigate the type of visual signals and strategies used by birds while negotiating cluttered environments, we presented budgerigars with vertically oriented apertures of different widths. We find that, when flying through narrow apertures, birds execute their maneu...

Bird Flight - Insights and Complications

A Flight Mechanics-Centric Review of Bird-Scale Flapping Flight

This paper reviews the flight mechanics and control of birds and bird-size aircraft. It is intended to fill a niche in the current survey literature which focuses primarily on the aerodynamics, flight dynamics and control of insect scale flight. We review the flight mechanics from first principles and summarize some recent results on the stability and control of birds and bird-scale aircraft. B...

Hawk: 3d Gestured-based Interactive Bird Flight Simulation Hawk: 3d Gestured-based Interactive Bird Flight Simulation

Control interfaces provide the most tangible connection between human users and computer software. This link is especially important in interactive real-time applications, like games and simulations, because users desire efficient controls that allow them to maximize their interactivity and immersion with the software. Traditionally, interfaces have been largely limited to keyboards and mice. R...