We review and expand on the control of separated flows over flat plates and aerofoils at low Reynolds numbers associated with micro air vehicles. Experimental observations of the steady-state and transient lift response to actuation, and its dependence on the actuator, aerofoil geometry and flow conditions, are discussed and an attempt is made to unify them in terms of their excitation of perio...

Insects are highly maneuverable fliers. Naturally, engineers have focused much of their efforts on understanding the role of insect wing design and actuation for maneuvering and control of bio-inspired micro air vehicles. However, many insects exhibit strong visually mediated abdominal reflexes. The hawkmoth, Manduca sexta, has a particularly large abdomen, and recent evidence suggests that the...

This paper presents simulations of unsteady flow past a plunging airfoil using the highorder spectral difference (SD) method. Both third-order and fourth-order SD methods are used on unstructured quadrilateral grids. The vortex shedding pattern of an airfoil in an oscillating plunge motion becomes asymmetric at a sufficiently high frequency. The SD method is able to capture this effect and reve...

This paper describes an approach to continuous coevolution of form (the morphology) and function (the control behavior) for autonomous vehicles. This study focuses on coevolution of the characteristics such as beam width and range of individual sensors in the sensor suite, and the reactive strategies for collision-free navigation for an autonomous micro air vehicle. The results of the evolution...

This paper discusses approaches to cooperative coevolution of form and function for autonomous vehicles, specifically evolving morphology and control for an autonomous micro air vehicle (MAV). The evolution of a sensor suite with minimal size, weight, and power requirements, and reactive strategies for collision-free navigation for the simulated MAV is described. Results are presented for sever...

This paper focuses on the study of genetic algorithms for evolving controllers for Micro Air Vehicles (small flying robots). Specifically, the effects of team size on the evolution of the robots are studied. The study of team sizes deals with finding an ideal number of robots to collectively perform the surveillance task of a given region. In addition, controllers for evolved robot teams are te...

Natural fliers demonstrate a diverse array of flight capabilities, many of which are poorly understood. NASA has established a research project to explore and exploit flight technologies inspired by biological systems. One part of this project focuses on dynamic modeling and control of micro aerial vehicles that incorporate flexible wing structures inspired by natural fliers such as insects, hu...

Direct-lift micro air vehicles have important applications in reconnaissance. In order to conduct persistent surveillance in urban environments, it is essential that these systems can perform autonomous landing maneuvers on elevated surfaces that provide high vantage points without the help of any external sensor and with a fully contained on-board software solution. In this paper, we present a...

This study was carried out to analyze the variations of Benzene, Toluene, and para- Xylene (BTp-X) present in the urban air of Delhi. These pollutants can enter into the human body through various pathways like inhalation, oral and dermal exposure posing adverse effects on human health. Keeping in view of the above facts, six different locations of Delhi were selected for the study during summe...