Review of the Flight Control Method of a Bird-like Flapping-Wing Air Vehicle

Abstract

The Bird-like Flapping-wing Air Vehicle (BFAV) is a robotic innovation that emulates the flight patterns of birds. In comparison to fixed-wing and rotary-wing air vehicles, the BFAV offers superior attributes such as stealth, enhanced maneuverability, strong adaptability, and low noise, which render the BFAV a promising prospect for numerous applications. Consequently, it represents a crucial direction of research in the field of air vehicles for the foreseeable future. However, the flapping-wing vehicle is a nonlinear and unsteady system, posing significant challenges for BFAV to achieve autonomous flying since it is difficult to analyze and characterize using traditional methods and aerodynamics. Hence, flight control as a major key for flapping-wing air vehicles to achieve autonomous flight garners considerable attention from scholars. This paper presents an exposition of the flight principles of BFAV, followed by a comprehensive analysis of various significant factors that impact bird flight. Subsequently, a review of the existing literature on flight control in BFAV is conducted, and the flight control of BFAV is categorized into three distinct components: position control, trajectory tracking control, and formation control. Additionally, the latest advancements in control algorithms for each component are deliberated and analyzed. Ultimately, a projection on forthcoming directions of research is presented.

Distributed State Estimation for Flapping-Wing Micro Air Vehicles with Information Fusion Correction

“…Bionics-based FMAV introduces a novel vehicle concept that emulates the flight patterns observed in birds or insects. This type of vehicle not only replicates the agile flight mechanisms found in actual birds and insects, but also demonstrates superior performance in executing intricate and demanding missions [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. This enhanced performance is attributed to its high maneuverability, strong adaptability, and low noise characteristics.…”

“…The topology of FMAV network is represented by a graph G = (V, E , A) with the set of nodes V = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, the set of edges of E = {(1, 1), (1, 2), (1.4), (2, 2), (2,4), (2,5), (3,1), (3,2), (3,3), (4,3), (4,4), (4,5), (5, 1), (5, 3), (5, 5)}, and the following adjacency…”

The Aerodynamic Effect of Biomimetic Pigeon Feathered Wing on a 1-DoF Flapping Mechanism

“…Moreover, several research teams have begun incorporating the concept of artificial feathers into the design of flapping-wing aircraft. In 2021, Festo Corporation introduced the BionicSwift, a biomimetic flapping-wing aircraft constructed using carbon fiber composite materials for the main wing framework and shafts, with lightweight foam material feathers adhered to the shafts [22]. This combination creates wings that closely resemble those of real birds.…”