Abstract

Micro air vehicles (MAV) provide an attractive solution for carrying out missions such as searching for survivors inside burning buildings or under collapsed structures, remote sensing of hazardous chemical and radiation leaks and surveillance and reconnaissance. MAVs can be miniature airplanes and helicopters, however, nature has micro air vehicles in the form of insects and hummingbirds, which outperform conventional designs and are therefore, ideal for MAV missions. Hence, there is a need to develop a biomimetic flapping wing micro air vehicle (FWMAV). In this work, theoretical and experimental research is undertaken in order to reverse engineer the complicated design of biological MAVs. Mathematical models of flapping wing kinematics, aerodynamics, thorax musculoskeletal system and flight dynamics were developed and integrated to form a generic model of insect flight. For experimental work, a robotic flapper was developed to mimic insect wing kinematics and aerodynamics. Using a combination of numerical optimization, experiments and theoretical analysis, optimal wing kinematics and thorax dynamics was determined. The analysis shows remarkable features in insect wings which significantly improve aerodynamic performance. Based on this study, tiny flapping mechanisms were developed for FWMAV application. These mechanisms mimic the essential mechanics of the insect thorax. Experimental evaulation of these mechanisms confirmed theoretical findings. The analysis of flight dynamics revealed the true nature of insect flight control which led to the development of controllers for semi-autonomous flight of FWMAV. Overall, this study not only proves the feasibility of biomimetic flapping wing MAV but also proves its advantages over conventional designs. In addition, this work also motivates further research in biological systems.