Flight Dynamics of a Morphing Aircraft Utilizing Independent Multiple-Joint Wing Sweep

Grant, Douglas D.; Abdulrahim, Mujahid; Lind, Rick

doi:10.1260/1756-8293.2.2.91

Cited by 57 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Many morphological aspects have been elucidated in recent years, but there remain functions that are still not well understood in a biomechanical and The RoboSwift mimics the sweep and area changes that help the swift fly more efficiently at different speeds [141] ( photo by Guy Ackermans). (c) A prototype wing uses two independent degrees of freedom in each wing [167,168]. (d ) A robot with artificial feathers uses asymmetric morphing for roll control [157].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inspiration for wing design: how forelimb specialization enables active flight in modern vertebrates

Chin¹,

Matloff²,

Stowers³

et al. 2017

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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Harnessing flight strategies refined by millions of years of evolution can help expedite the design of more efficient, manoeuvrable and robust flying robots. This review synthesizes recent advances and highlights remaining gaps in our understanding of how bird and bat wing adaptations enable effective flight. Included in this discussion is an evaluation of how current robotic analogues measure up to their biological sources of inspiration. Studies of vertebrate wings have revealed skeletal systems well suited for enduring the loads required during flight, but the mechanisms that drive coordinated motions between bones and connected integuments remain ill-described. Similarly, vertebrate flight muscles have adapted to sustain increased wing loading, but a lack of in vivo studies limits our understanding of specific muscular functions. Forelimb adaptations diverge at the integument level, but both bird feathers and bat membranes yield aerodynamic surfaces with a level of robustness unparalleled by engineered wings. These morphological adaptations enable a diverse range of kinematics tuned for different flight speeds and manoeuvres. By integrating vertebrate flight specializationsparticularly those that enable greater robustness and adaptability-into the design and control of robotic wings, engineers can begin narrowing the wide margin that currently exists between flying robots and vertebrates. In turn, these robotic wings can help biologists create experiments that would be impossible in vivo.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inspiration for wing design: how forelimb specialization enables active flight in modern vertebrates

Chin¹,

Matloff²,

Stowers³

et al. 2017

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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“…Human memory is one of the most intriguing biological phenomena in nature [25] [26]; it is what makes possible so many of our complex cognitive functions, including communicating and learning.…”

Section: A Fundamentalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV) Flapping Motion Control Using an Immune Network with Different Immune Factors

Weng

Xia

et al. 2013

International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems

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This paper proposes a novel NeuralImmunology/Memory Network to address the problem of motion control for flapping-wing Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs). This network is inspired by the human memory system as well as the immune system, and it is effective in attenuating the system errors and other lumped system uncertainties. In contrast to most existing Neural Networks, the convergence of this proposed NeuralImmunology/Memory Network can be theoretically proven. Both analyses and simulations that are based on different immune factors show that the proposed control method is effective in dealing with external disturbances, system nonlinearities, uncertainties and parameter variations.

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“…For simplicity, the model used was a previously studied and successfully flown aircraft [10]. The only alterations were made on the vertical tail, making it a simple rectangle with the same surface area as the original, and adjusting its vertical and longitudinal placement.…”

Section: Flight Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pterodrone: a pterodactyl-inspired unmanned air vehicle that flies, walks, climbs, and sails

Chatterjee¹,

Roberts²,

Lind³

2010

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

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Bio-inspiration has led to a variety of robotic designs, especially small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for urban environment that have taken cues from birds, bats, and insects. However, one group of extinct flying animals, the pterosaurs that flew over the heads of dinosaurs, have been largely overlooked in this search for biological solutions to mechanical problems. This project will develop and demonstrate a next-generation capability for sensor emplacement using pterosaurs as the model animal. Tapejara wellnhoferi, a pterodactyloid from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil, shows promise to develop an UAV (Pterodrone) of much superior range, a sensor platform capable of aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic locomotion by altering its wing shape. Tapejara was a sophisticated flyer with a cruising speed of 30 km/hr. The cranial sail led to the design of a vertical tail at the nose of the Pterodrone that varies both longitudinally and vertically, as opposed to the more conventional, fixed aftlocated vertical tail. The novel forward-placed tail design shows a marked improvement in the allowable turning radius when flight vehicle capabilities are normalized to constant thrust or power. Fabricated of lightweight carbon fiber, the Pterodrone employs a flexible wing design to achieve a wide range of multimodal locomotion. On land, the Pterodrone could walk quadrupedally for gathering information. Wheel-pod, a new device, employs the retractable foot on demand for terrestrial locomotion, and is flexibly hinged to the rear wheel, with a gecko-like foot that permitted vertical landing on the wall. In aquatic environments, the Pterodrone achieves the configuration of a two-masted catamaran sailboat, where the cranial sail acts as a jib and the two upright wings function as a pair of mainsails to catch the bridge. The sternum and hindlimbs would have contacted the water much as trimaran's hulls do to provide stability. The enhanced agility of the Pterodrone, a combination of sea-air-ground robotics, with embedded sensing elements will allow operations throughout urban areas, even buildings or dangerous and inaccessible environments for search and surveillance. With a wide range of multimodal locomotion, the Pterodrone is a vehicle with mission capability that would gather data from sights, sounds, and smells in urban combat zones and transmit information back to the ground station in real-time.

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Flight Dynamics of a Morphing Aircraft Utilizing Independent Multiple-Joint Wing Sweep

Cited by 57 publications

References 15 publications

Inspiration for wing design: how forelimb specialization enables active flight in modern vertebrates

Inspiration for wing design: how forelimb specialization enables active flight in modern vertebrates

Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV) Flapping Motion Control Using an Immune Network with Different Immune Factors

Pterodrone: a pterodactyl-inspired unmanned air vehicle that flies, walks, climbs, and sails

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