Longitudinal Mode System Identification of an Insect-like Tailless Flapping-Wing Micro Air Vehicle Using Onboard Sensors

Abstract

In this paper, model parameter identification results are presented for a longitudinal mode dynamic model of an insect-like tailless flapping-wing micro air vehicle (FWMAV) using angle and angular rate data from onboard sensors only. A gray box model approach with indirect method was utilized with adaptive Gauss–Newton, Levenberg–Marquardt, and gradient search identification methods. Regular and low-frequency reference commands were mainly used for identification since they gave higher fit percentages than irregular and high-frequency reference commands. Dynamic parameters obtained using three identification methods with two different datasets were similar to each other, indicating that the obtained dynamic model was sufficiently reliable. Most of the identified dynamic model parameters had similar values to the computationally obtained ones, except stability derivatives for pitching moment with forward velocity and pitching rate variations. Differences were mainly due to certain neglected body, nonlinear dynamics, and the shift of the center of gravity. Fit percentage of the identified dynamic model (~49%) was more than two-fold higher than that of the computationally obtained one (~22%). Frequency domain analysis showed that the identified model was much different from that of the computationally obtained one in the frequency range of 0.3 rad/s to 5 rad/s, which affected transient responses. Both dynamic models showed that the phase margin was very low, and that it should be increased by a feedback controller to have a robustly stable system. The stable dominant pole of the identified model had a higher magnitude which resulted in faster responses. The identified dynamic model exhibited much closer responses to experimental flight data in pitching motion than the computationally obtained dynamic model, demonstrating that the identified dynamic model could be used for the design of more effective pitch angle-stabilizing controllers.

Special Issue on Trends and Challenges in Robotic Applications

“…Mobile robots, including autonomous vehicles, are an exciting and rapidly evolving technology that has the potential to revolutionize robotic transportation. As research and development in this field progress, several new topics are emerging that address the challenges and enhance the capabilities of autonomous mobile robots, including swarm robotics and its tools [22]. Examples of this flourishing field of research include [23], which is focused on automatically allocating space for parking autonomous and human-operated vehicles, and [24], which presents a control system developed to achieve mobile robot formations based on the leader-follower method.…”

Platform Design and Preliminary Test Result of an Insect-like Flapping MAV with Direct Motor-Driven Resonant Wings Utilizing Extension Springs

“…A metal gear with module 0.3 and 7 teeth is used for the pinion gear, while a plastic gear with module 0.3 and 81 teeth is used for the spur gear. The wings used are the same as those of the KUBeetle [ 11 ]. The wingspan is 75 mm, while the wing area is 18.8 cm 2 .…”

“…A pair of wings is tied together via the transmission mechanism so that the wings cannot be controlled individually, and the flapping frequency is the only variable that can be adjusted by the motor. Therefore, servo motors are mounted in this model to produce control force by modifying symmetric wing stroke motion [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Another approach is to use dual unidirectional DC motors.…”

A Retrospective of Project Robo Raven: Developing New Capabilities for Enhancing the Performance of Flapping Wing Aerial Vehicles

“…Moreover, there is a burgeoning interest in creating flapping wing platforms that take inspiration from a wide array of flying creatures. This includes exploring the flight mechanisms of bats, which can fly without tail structures [34][35][36], as well as drawing insights from flying insects for the development of miniaturized flapping wing aerial vehicles (FWAVs) capable of operating at higher flapping frequencies [37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48]. Additionally, researchers are even exploring the possibilities of designing FWAVs inspired by the flight characteristics of dinosaurs [49].…”