Systematic characterization of wing mechanosensors that monitor airflow and wing deformations

Fabian, Joseph M.; Siwanowicz, Igor; Uhrhan, Myriam; Maeda, Masateru; Bomphrey, Richard J.; Lin, Horng Chyuan

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.104150

Cited by 21 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 59 publications

(70 reference statements)

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“…The finite element model is developed for a geometrically simplified wing that shares several features with the wings of the hawkmoth Manduca sexta (e.g., size and flapping frequency). Unlike previous work, which relied on analytical models based on Euler-Lagrange equations, finite element models provide the flexibility to study a variety of complex properties of real insect wings, such as irregular shapes, inhomogeneous material properties, and anisotropies [16, 22].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Properties such as shape and stiffness significantly impact wing deformations, the resulting aerodynamic forces, and an animal’s behavioral performance [16, 17, 5, 18]. Models based on the finite element method (FEM) support examination of more realistic wing features, such as wing geometry, venation patterns, damping, and nonuniform stiffness [16, 19, 8, 20, 21, 22]. While these models have revealed an interesting advantage of nonuniform stiffness for thrust and lift generation, they have not yet been used to examine sensing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Nonuniform structural properties of wings confer sensing advantages

Weber

Babaei

Mamo

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Sensory feedback is essential to both animals and robotic systems for achieving coordinated, precise movements. Mechanosensory feedback, which provides information about body deformation and position in space, depends not only on the properties of sensors but also on the structure in which they are embedded. In insects, wing structure plays a particularly important role in flapping flight: in addition to generating aerodynamic forces, wings provide mechanosensory feedback necessary for guiding flight while undergoing dramatic deformations over the course of each wingbeat. However, the role that wing structure plays in determining mechanosensory information is relatively unexplored. Insect wings exhibit characteristic stiffness gradients, with greatest stiffness at the base and leading edge and lowest stiffness at the tip of the trailing edge. Additionally, wings are subject to both aerodynamic and structural damping. The sensory consequences of stiffness gradients and damping are unknown. Here we examine how both the nonuniform stiffness profile of a wing and its damping impacts sensory performance, using finite elements analysis combined with sensor placement optimization approaches. We show that wings with nonuniform stiffness exhibit several advantages over uniform stiffness wings, resulting in higher accuracy of rotation detection and lower sensitivity to the placement of sensors on the wing. Moreover, we show that higher damping generally improves the accuracy with which body rotations can be detected. These results contribute to our understanding of the evolution of the nonuniform stiffness patterns in insect wings, as well as suggest design principles for robotic systems.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonuniform structural properties of wings confer sensing advantages

Weber

Babaei

Mamo

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…size and flapping frequency). In contrast to earlier work that relied on analytical models based on the Euler-Lagrange equations, finite element models provide the versatility to study a variety of complex properties of real insect wings, such as irregular shapes, inhomogeneous material properties and anisotropies [17,22,[25][26][27].…”

Section: Finite Element Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Properties such as shape and stiffness significantly impact wing deformations, the resulting aerodynamic forces and an animal's behavioural performance [4,[17][18][19]. Models based on the finite element method (FEM) support examination of more realistic wing features, such as wing geometry, venation patterns, damping and nonuniform stiffness [5,8,17,[20][21][22]. However, these models have not yet been used to examine sensing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonuniform structural properties of wings confer sensing advantages

Weber

Babaei

Mamo

et al. 2023

J. R. Soc. Interface.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sensory feedback is essential to both animals and robotic systems for achieving coordinated, precise movements. Mechanosensory feedback, which provides information about body deformation, depends not only on the properties of sensors but also on the structure in which they are embedded. In insects, wing structure plays a particularly important role in flapping flight: in addition to generating aerodynamic forces, wings provide mechanosensory feedback necessary for guiding flight while undergoing dramatic deformations during each wingbeat. However, the role that wing structure plays in determining mechanosensory information is relatively unexplored. Insect wings exhibit characteristic stiffness gradients and are subject to both aerodynamic and structural damping. Here we examine how both of these properties impact sensory performance, using finite element analysis combined with sensor placement optimization approaches. We show that wings with nonuniform stiffness exhibit several advantages over uniform stiffness wings, resulting in higher accuracy of rotation detection and lower sensitivity to the placement of sensors on the wing. Moreover, we show that higher damping generally improves the accuracy with which body rotations can be detected. These results contribute to our understanding of the evolution of the nonuniform stiffness patterns in insect wings, as well as suggest design principles for robotic systems.

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“…For insects, their wings contain transducers capable of visual, airflow, inertial, and wing load sensing ( Taylor and Krapp, 2007 ). Fabian et al (2022) present the first detailed map of the mechanosensor arrays on the dragonfly’s wings through a cross-species survey of sensor distribution with quantitative neuroanatomy. This helps to further understand where and how the sensory apparatus is distributed and integrated into the sensorimotor loop of flight control in insects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Embodied airflow sensing for improved in-gust flight of flapping wing MAVs

Wang

Croon

et al. 2022

Front. Robot. AI

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Flapping wing micro aerial vehicles (FWMAVs) are known for their flight agility and maneuverability. These bio-inspired and lightweight flying robots still present limitations in their ability to fly in direct wind and gusts, as their stability is severely compromised in contrast with their biological counterparts. To this end, this work aims at making in-gust flight of flapping wing drones possible using an embodied airflow sensing approach combined with an adaptive control framework at the velocity and position control loops. At first, an extensive experimental campaign is conducted on a real FWMAV to generate a reliable and accurate model of the in-gust flight dynamics, which informs the design of the adaptive position and velocity controllers. With an extended experimental validation, this embodied airflow-sensing approach integrated with the adaptive controller reduces the root-mean-square errors along the wind direction by 25.15% when the drone is subject to frontal wind gusts of alternating speeds up to 2.4 m/s, compared to the case with a standard cascaded PID controller. The proposed sensing and control framework improve flight performance reliably and serve as the basis of future progress in the field of in-gust flight of lightweight FWMAVs.

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Systematic characterization of wing mechanosensors that monitor airflow and wing deformations

Cited by 21 publications

References 59 publications

Nonuniform structural properties of wings confer sensing advantages

Nonuniform structural properties of wings confer sensing advantages

Nonuniform structural properties of wings confer sensing advantages

Embodied airflow sensing for improved in-gust flight of flapping wing MAVs

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