This article outlines a new control approach for flapping-wing micro-aerial vehicles (MAVs), inspired both by biological systems and by the need for lightweight actuation and control solutions. In our approach, the aerodynamic forces required for agile motions are achieved indirectly, by modifying passive impedance properties that couple motion of the power stroke to the angle of attack (AoA) o...

A numerical framework is presented to simulate rigid and flexible flapping wings. The fluid-structure interaction is realized by coupling a Navier-Stokes solver to a geometrically nonlinear co-rotational structural solver. In the coupled fluid-structure interaction interface the aerodynamic loading and deformed wing surface are shared by two solvers within each time step. A remeshing method bas...

We study the dynamics of a rigid, symmetric wing that is flapped vertically in a fluid. The motion of the wing in the horizontal direction is not constrained. Above a critical flapping frequency, forward flight arises as the wing accelerates to a terminal state of constant speed. We describe a number of measurements which supplement our previous work. These include a a study of the initial tran...

All natural flyers equip flexible wings. It’s widely thought that the wing flexibility can play important roles in flight aerodynamics. In the current work, a combined experimental and computational method is developed to study the role of morphing wing in hovering dragonfly aerodynamic performance. We start with taking high-speed images of a freely flying dragonfly. Next, a surface reconstruct...

Wing or fin flexibility can dramatically a↵ect the performance of flying and swimming animals. Both laboratory experiments and numerical simulations have been used to study these e↵ects, but analytical results are notably lacking. Here, we develop small-amplitude theory to model a flapping wing that pitches passively due to a combination of wing compliance, inertia, and fluid forces. Remarkably...

This project focuses on developing a flapping-wing hovering insect using 3D-printed wings and mechanical parts. The use of 3D printing technology has greatly expanded the possibilities for wing design, allowing wing shapes to replicate those of real insects or virtually any other shape. It has also reduced the time of a wing design cycle to a matter of minutes. An ornithopter with a mass of 3.8...

Flapping wing micro air vehicles have many possible applications and have therefore been the subject of extensive research. The Atalanta project aims to develop a fully autonomous, 10 cm wingspan, flapping wing sensor platform. The structure is based on a fully compliant resonating structure with passive wing pitching. Several design improvements have taken place since the last report. Introduc...

2006). Flapping wing MAVs (FWMAVs) are a class of new conceptual MAVs that take design cues from flying insects in order to achieve a small size (<3–5 cm), high maneuverability and super remote ability (Yan et al. 2015). A FWMAV is expected to work in a variety of confined spaces such as urban canyons, caves, indoors, and jungles that large flying robots can’t be serviceable. To achieve such ta...

It is well-known that insects utilize vortices generated by flapping, by which they generate larger lift than that evaluated by the ordinary aerodynamic theory. However, the relative position between the vortices and the wing is affected by the motion of the center of gravity(CG). Such effect has not been well understood. To clarify the effect, we numerically analyzed a simple model considering...

Insect wings are deformable structures that change shape passively and dynamically owing to inertial and aerodynamic forces during flight. It is still unclear how the three-dimensional and passive change of wing kinematics owing to inherent wing flexibility contributes to unsteady aerodynamics and energetics in insect flapping flight. Here, we perform a systematic fluid-structure interaction ba...