First controlled vertical flight of a biologically inspired microrobot

Pérez-Arancibia, Néstor O.; Kevin, Y.; Galloway, Kevin C.; Greenberg, J. D.; Wood, Robert J.

doi:10.1088/1748-3182/6/3/036009

Cited by 109 publications

(103 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Moreover, they fly at Reynolds numbers Re ¼ 10 2 -10 4 , in which flows are unsteady [5,6]. Most importantly, recent analytical and numerical analyses, as well as mechanical models, indicate that flapping flight is aerodynamically unstable, on a time scale of a few wing-beats [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. It is, therefore, intriguing how insects overcome such control challenges and manage to fly with impressive stability, manoeuvrability and robustness, outmanoeuvring any man-made flying device.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlling roll perturbations in fruit flies

Beatus

Guckenheimer

Cohen

2015

J. R. Soc. Interface.

150

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Owing to aerodynamic instabilities, stable flapping flight requires ever-present fast corrective actions. Here, we investigate how flies control perturbations along their body roll angle, which is unstable and their most sensitive degree of freedom. We glue a magnet to each fly and apply a short magnetic pulse that rolls it in mid-air. Fast video shows flies correct perturbations up to 1008 within 30 + 7 ms by applying a stroke-amplitude asymmetry that is well described by a linear proportional-integral controller. For more aggressive perturbations, we show evidence for nonlinear and hierarchical control mechanisms. Flies respond to roll perturbations within 5 ms, making this correction reflex one of the fastest in the animal kingdom.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlling roll perturbations in fruit flies

Beatus

Guckenheimer

Cohen

2015

J. R. Soc. Interface.

150

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“…We use muscle-like piezoelectric actuators to generate forces, flexures for pivot joints, and harness unsteady aerodynamic forces by flapping wings [7] because flapping-wing flight has been shown to be potentially more efficient than fixedwing flight at insect-scale [8]. Our group has demonstrated constrained liftoff [7] and vertical position control [9] of the Harvard RoboBee, an insect-scale flapping-wing robot, using these techniques. Attaining unconstrained flight control, however, remains a challenge.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A hovering flapping-wing microrobot with altitude control and passive upright stability

Teoh

Fuller

Chirarattananon

et al. 2012

2012 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems

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Abstract-The Harvard RoboBee is the first insect-scale flapping-wing robot weighing less than 100 mg that is able to lift its own weight. However, when flown without guide wires, this vehicle quickly tumbles after takeoff because of instability in its dynamics. Here, we show that by adding aerodynamic dampers, we can can alter the vehicle's dynamics to stabilize its upright orientation. We provide an analysis using wind tunnel experiments and a dynamic model. We demonstrate stable vertical takeoff, and using a marker-based external camera tracking system, hovering altitude control in an active feedback loop. These results provide a stable platform for both system dynamics characterization and unconstrained active maneuvers of the vehicle and represent the first known hovering demonstration of an insect-scale flapping-wing robot.

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“…In recent decades, there has been considerable progress in developing Flapping-Wing Micro Air Vehicles (FW-MAVs) for real flight [1][2][3][4][5][6] and for basic study [7][8][9][10] . A typical FW-MAV flies by flapping its wings at a flapping angle of about 50Û and a flapping frequency of about 20 Hz [1] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In other words, it is hard to find a source of control force in an insect-mimicking FW-MAV, and the free flight test of an insect-mimicking flapping-wing system becomes nontrivial. For example, two thin wire guides were used to demonstrate takeoff of an insect size flapping-wing system because its stability was not guaranteed [8] . Thus, inherent stability should be implemented in an insect-mimicking FW-MAV before we install the control mechanism.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stable vertical takeoff of an insect-mimicking flapping-wing system without guide implementing inherent pitching stability

et al. 2012

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We briefly summarized how to design and fabricate an insect-mimicking flapping-wing system and demonstrate how to implement inherent pitching stability for stable vertical takeoff. The effect of relative locations of the Center of Gravity (CG) and the mean Aerodynamic Center (AC) on vertical flight was theoretically examined through static force balance consideration. We conducted a series of vertical takeoff tests in which the location of the mean AC was determined using an unsteady Blade Element Theory (BET) previously developed by the authors. Sequential images were captured during the takeoff tests using a high-speed camera. The results demonstrated that inherent pitching stability for vertical takeoff can be achieved by controlling the relative position between the CG and the mean AC of the flapping system.

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First controlled vertical flight of a biologically inspired microrobot

Cited by 109 publications

References 27 publications

Controlling roll perturbations in fruit flies

Controlling roll perturbations in fruit flies

A hovering flapping-wing microrobot with altitude control and passive upright stability

Stable vertical takeoff of an insect-mimicking flapping-wing system without guide implementing inherent pitching stability

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