Bio-Inspired Morphing Tail for Flapping-Wings Aerial Robots Using Macro Fiber Composites

Perez-Sanchez, V.; Gomez-Tamm, A. E.; Savastano, Emanuela; Arrue, Begoña C.; Ollero, A.

doi:10.3390/app11072930

Cited by 13 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The structure and material of morphing tail：The role of the avian tail in the process of flight is of utmost importance, as it exhibits distinct morphologies under varying flight conditions. However, current flapping wing robots are constrained by a singular tail configuration and lack the capability to dynamically deform similar to avian tails, thereby hindering their adaptability to diverse flight requirements 33,37 . In order to meet the flight requirements under different flight conditions, a deformable tail system is designed, which includes a driving module, attitude adjustment module, deformation module, etc.…”

Section: The Structure and Materials Of Morphing Tail And Parameter D...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Collaborative Adjustment of Wing-Tail Distance and Tail Attitude to Achieve Agile Maneuver Flight of Biomimetic Flapping Wing Robot

Xu,

Liu,

Pan

et al. 2024

Preprint

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In nature, raptors exhibit remarkable hunting abilities through their adept use of rapid aerial maneuvers. The key to achieving such exceptional maneuverability lies in the dynamic adjustment of the distance between the center of gravity (COG) and aerodynamic center (AC) across a wide range. Drawing inspiration from this natural phenomenon, we have developed a biomimetic flapping-wing robot with agile flying capabilities. By coordinating adjustments in wing-tail distance and tail attitude, we can effectively manipulate the relative positioning of the robot's COG and AC, as well as modulate wing and tail moments generated with respect to COG, thereby influencing climbing and descending characteristics. This enhanced agility allows us to define and achieve 13 Dynamic Flying Primitives (DFPs), including ascend and pull-up, ascend and inverted flight, dive and inverted flight, among others. Furthermore, by combining different DFPs, we have successfully executed 9 typical maneuvers such as figure-of-eight somersaults, inverted flight maneuvers, large-angle dives followed by steeply climbs, etc., all for the first time on flapping-wing robots. Finally, outdoor flying tests have been conducted to validate that our biologically-inspired flapping-wing flying robot equipped with a self-adjustment strategy for wing-tail distance and tail attitude can achieve unprecedented levels of agile maneuverability.

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Section: The Structure and Materials Of Morphing Tail And Parameter D...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Collaborative Adjustment of Wing-Tail Distance and Tail Attitude to Achieve Agile Maneuver Flight of Biomimetic Flapping Wing Robot

Xu,

Liu,

Pan

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…Other authors investigated the possibility of using MFC (Macro Fiber Composite) actuators on their bioinspired tail designs; thus, Gamble and Inman [18] and Perez-Sanchez et al [19] used this technology for yaw control over a wide range of slip angles and pitch control.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wind Tunnel Balance Measurements of Bioinspired Tails for a Fixed Wing MAV

Bardera,

Rodríguez-Sevillano,

Barroso

et al. 2024

Drones

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Bird tails play a significant role in aerodynamics and stability during flight. This paper investigates the use of bioinspired horizontal stabilizers for Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) with Zimmerman wing-body geometry. Five configurations of bioinspired horizontal stabilizers are presented. Then, 3-component external balance force measurements of each horizontal stabilizer are performed in the wind tunnel. The Squared-Fan-Shaped Horizontal Stabilizer (HSF-tail) is selected as the optimal horizontal stabilizer that provides the highest aerodynamic efficiency during cruise flight while maintaining high longitudinal stability on the vehicle. The integration of the HSF-tail increases the aerodynamic efficiency by more than 6% up to a maximum of 17% compared to the other alternatives while maintaining the lowest aerodynamic drag value during the cruise phase. Furthermore, balance measurements to analyze the influence of the HSF-tail deflection on the aerodynamic coefficients are conducted, resulting in increased lift force and reduced aerodynamic drag with negative tail deflections. Lastly, the experimental data is validated with CFD-RANS steady simulations for low angles of attack, obtaining a relative difference on the measurement around 5% for the aerodynamic drag coefficient and around 10% for the lift coefficient during the cruise flight that demonstrates a high degree of accuracy in the aerodynamic coefficients obtained by external balance in the wind tunnel. This work represents a novel approach through the implementation of a horizontal stabilizer inspired by the structure of the tails of birds that is expected to yield significant advancements in both stability and aerodynamic efficiency, with the potential to revolutionize MAV technology.

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“…One prominent example of a bioinspired element in UAV designs is the biomimetic wing and tail structures [13][14][15][16][17]. The wings of birds, insects, and bats have evolved over millions of years to enable efficient flights in diverse environments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling and Application of an SMA-Actuated Lightweight Human-Inspired Gripper for Aerial Manipulation

Perez-Sanchez,

Garcia-Rubiales,

Nekoo

et al. 2023

Machines

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The increasing usage of multi-rotor aerial platforms and the reliability of flights enabled researchers to add equipment and devices to them for application. The addition of lightweight manipulators, grippers, and mechanisms to fulfill specific tasks has been reported frequently recently. This work pushes the idea one step ahead and uses an Artificial Human Hand (AHH) in an uncrewed aerial vehicle for aerial manipulation, device delivery, and co-operation with human workers. This application requires an effective end-effector capable of grasping and holding objects of different shapes. The AHH is a lightweight custom-made human-inspired design actuated using Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) materials. The SMA actuators offer significantly high forces with respect to their light weights though the control of these new actuators is a challenge that has been successfully demonstrated in this paper. The control of the SMA actuators could be achieved via heat exchange on the actuator, indirectly carried out by changing the current. The benefit of using this new actuator is removing the motors and mechanical mechanisms and simplifying the design. A soft cover is developed for the AHH to add friction and make it closer to a human hand. The modeling of the structured actuators on the system through tendons is presented, and a series of experiments for handling and manipulating different objects have been conducted. The objects were chosen with different weights and shapes to show the effectiveness of the design. An analysis of a generated torque of the manipulator for different cylindrical objects has been carried out. An analysis and comparison for grasping a series of items, pressure and temperature analysis, and the weight-to-volume ratio have been presented.

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Bio-Inspired Morphing Tail for Flapping-Wings Aerial Robots Using Macro Fiber Composites

Cited by 13 publications

References 35 publications

Collaborative Adjustment of Wing-Tail Distance and Tail Attitude to Achieve Agile Maneuver Flight of Biomimetic Flapping Wing Robot

Collaborative Adjustment of Wing-Tail Distance and Tail Attitude to Achieve Agile Maneuver Flight of Biomimetic Flapping Wing Robot

Wind Tunnel Balance Measurements of Bioinspired Tails for a Fixed Wing MAV

Modeling and Application of an SMA-Actuated Lightweight Human-Inspired Gripper for Aerial Manipulation

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