A Differentially Driven Flapping Wing Mechanism for Force Analysis and Trajectory Optimization

Flapping flight has the potential to revolutionize micro air vehicles (MAVs) due to increased aerodynamic performance, improved maneuverability, and hover capabilities. This paper presents the design of a robotic flapping wing mechanism for use in general studies involving flapping flight and laboratory-based experimental optimization of flapping trajectories. The design allows for dynamic adjustment of flapping trajectories in air or liquids with three rotational degrees of freedom on each wing. The design, instrumentation, and control of the mechanism are discussed, and experimental characterization of the mechanism's performance is presented. Preliminary trajectory optimization using a Box-Behnken design approach is used and shows successful parameter optimization. The limitations of the current mechanism are addressed. A survey of flapping mechanisms is presented.

[1]  G. K. Ananthasuresh,et al.  A Novel Compliant Mechanism for Converting Reciprocating Translation Into Enclosing Curved Paths , 2004 .

[2]  Wei Shyy,et al.  Aerodynamics of Low Reynolds Number Flyers: Plate Section , 2007 .

[3]  Anthony Colozza,et al.  Force Measurements on a Flapping and Pitching Wing At Low Reynolds Numbers , 2006 .

[4]  Cameron Tropea,et al.  Experimental investigation of a flapping wing model , 2009 .

[5]  Manabu Yamamoto,et al.  Direct Measurement of Unsteady Fluid Dynamic Forces for a Hovering Dragonfly , 2005 .

[6]  D. Lentink,et al.  Vortex-wake interactions of a flapping foil that models animal swimming and flight , 2008, Journal of Experimental Biology.

[7]  David L. Raney,et al.  Mechanization and Control Concepts for Biologically Inspired Micro Air Vehicles , 2004 .

[8]  M. Dickinson,et al.  Wing rotation and the aerodynamic basis of insect flight. , 1999, Science.

[9]  S.K. Agrawal,et al.  Energetics-based design of small flapping-wing micro air vehicles , 2006, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics.

[10]  R. Zbikowski,et al.  Insect-like flapping wing mechanism based on a double spherical Scotch yoke , 2005, Journal of The Royal Society Interface.

[11]  Ronald S. Fearing,et al.  Wing transmission for a micromechanical flying insect , 2000, Proceedings 2000 ICRA. Millennium Conference. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. Symposia Proceedings (Cat. No.00CH37065).

[12]  Xinyan Deng,et al.  Experimental testbed and prototype development for a dragonfly-inspired robot , 2007, 2007 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[13]  M. Goldfarb,et al.  The Development of Elastodynamic Components for Piezoelectrically Actuated Flapping Micro-Air Vehicles , 2002 .

[14]  S C Burgess,et al.  Design of a parallel crank-rocker flapping mechanism for insect-inspired micro air vehicles , 2007 .

[15]  Inderjit Chopra,et al.  Insect-Based Hover-Capable Flapping Wings for Micro Air Vehicles: Experiments and Analysis , 2008 .

[16]  C. Ellington.  The novel aerodynamics of insect flight: applications to micro-air vehicles. , 1999, The Journal of experimental biology.

[17]  Robert J. Wood,et al.  Lift force improvements for the micromechanical flying insect , 2003, Proceedings 2003 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2003) (Cat. No.03CH37453).

[18]  M. Dickinson,et al.  Spanwise flow and the attachment of the leading-edge vortex on insect wings , 2001, Nature.

[19]  Isao Shimoyama,et al.  Flight dynamics of a butterfly-type ornithopter , 2005, 2005 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[20]  Phillip J. McKerrow,et al.  Introduction to robotics , 1991 .

[21]  F. Lehmann,et al.  The fluid dynamics of flight control by kinematic phase lag variation between two robotic insect wings , 2004, Journal of Experimental Biology.

[22]  David L. Raney,et al.  Mechanization and Control Concepts for Biologically Inspired Micro Aerial Vehicles Micro Aerial Vehicles , 2003 .

[23]  Matthew,et al.  Design & Development of a Thrust Augmented Entomopter: An Advanced Flapping Wing Micro Hovering Air Vehicle , 2003 .

[24]  Sunil K. Agrawal,et al.  Design and Optimization of a Mechanism for Out-of-Plane Insect Winglike Motion With Twist , 2005 .

[25]  Andrew T. Conn,et al.  From Natural Flyers to the Mechanical Realization of a Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicle , 2006, 2006 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics.

[26]  S.K. Agrawal,et al.  Design of a Mechanism for Biaxial Rotation of a Wing for a Hovering Vehicle , 2006, The First IEEE/RAS-EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics, 2006. BioRob 2006..

[27]  Hao Liu,et al.  Recent progress in flapping wing aerodynamics and aeroelasticity , 2010 .

[28]  Sunil K. Agrawal,et al.  Biologically Inspired Design Of Small Flapping Wing Air Vehicles Using Four-Bar Mechanisms And Quasi-steady Aerodynamics , 2005 .

[29]  Koji Isogai,et al.  Development of Bird-like Micro Aerial Vehicle with Flapping and Feathering Wing Motions , 2008 .

[30]  J. Yan,et al.  Force measurements on a scaled mechanical model of dragonfly in forward flight , 2005, ICAR '05. Proceedings., 12th International Conference on Advanced Robotics, 2005..

[31]  Michael J. C. Smith,et al.  Simulating moth wing aerodynamics - Towards the development of flapping-wing technology , 1996 .

[32]  Ronald S. Fearing,et al.  Wing force map characterization and simulation for the micromechanical flying insect , 2003, Proceedings 2003 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2003) (Cat. No.03CH37453).

[33]  Robert J. Wood,et al.  Design, fabrication, and analysis of a 3DOF, 3cm flapping-wing MAV , 2007, 2007 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[34]  Metin Sitti.  PZT actuated four-bar mechanism with two flexible links for micromechanical flying insect thorax , 2001, Proceedings 2001 ICRA. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.01CH37164).

[35]  Nam Seo Goo,et al.  Design and evaluation of a LIPCA-actuated flapping device , 2006 .

[36]  C. T. Bolsman,et al.  Design Overview of a Resonant Wing Actuation Mechanism for Application in Flapping Wing MAVs , 2009 .

[37]  Stéphane Doncieux,et al.  Flapping-Wing Mechanism for a bird-Sized UAVS: Design, Modeling and Control , 2008 .

[38]  Stuart C Burgess,et al.  The development of a miniature mechanism for producing insect wing motion , 2004 .

[39]  Robert J. Wood,et al.  Towards flapping wing control for a micromechanical flying insect , 2001, Proceedings 2001 ICRA. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.01CH37164).

[40]  Sunil Kumar Agrawal,et al.  Design and Optimization of a Biologically Inspired Flapping Mechanism for Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicles , 2007, Proceedings 2007 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[41]  G. Box,et al.  Some New Three Level Designs for the Study of Quantitative Variables , 1960 .

[42]  Rafal Zbikowski,et al.  Four-Bar Linkage Mechanism for Insectlike Flapping Wings in Hover: Concept and an Outline of Its Realization , 2005 .

[43]  Robert J. Wood,et al.  Asymmetric flapping for a robotic fly using a hybrid power-control actuator , 2009, 2009 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[44]  Sergey V Shkarayev,et al.  Flight Dynamics of a Flapping-Wing Air Vehicle , 2009 .

[45]  Christopher A. Mattson,et al.  Experiment-Based Optimization of Flapping Wing Kinematics , 2009 .

[46]  Wei Shyy,et al.  Near wake vortex dynamics of a hovering hawkmoth , 2009 .

[47]  Tomonari Furukawa,et al.  Design of an active flapping wing mechanism and a micro aerial vehicle using a rotary actuator , 2010 .

[48]  S. Ferreira,et al.  Box-Behnken design: an alternative for the optimization of analytical methods. , 2007, Analytica chimica acta.

[49]  Lung-Jieh Yang,et al.  Flapping wings with PVDF sensors to modify the aerodynamic forces of a micro aerial vehicle , 2007 .

[50]  M. Yamamoto.  Measurement of unsteady fluid dynamic force for a mechanical dragonfly model , 2005 .

[51]  K. Isogai,et al.  Measurement of unsteady aerodynamic force of 3d flapping wing in hovering to forward flight , 2008 .

[52]  Adrian L. R. Thomas,et al.  Dragonfly flight: free-flight and tethered flow visualizations reveal a diverse array of unsteady lift-generating mechanisms, controlled primarily via angle of attack , 2004, Journal of Experimental Biology.

[53]  Sun-Tae Kim,et al.  Flow Visualization and Force Measurement of an Insect- based Flapping Wing , 2010 .

[54]  John J. Craig,et al.  Introduction to robotics - mechanics and control (2. ed.) , 1989 .

[55]  Satyandra K. Gupta,et al.  Integrated Product and Process Design for a Flapping Wing Drive Mechanism , 2009 .

[56]  Kevin Massey,et al.  Force Measurements and Flow Visualization for a Flexible Flapping Wing Mechanism , 2009 .

[57]  C. Ellington,et al.  The three–dimensional leading–edge vortex of a ‘hovering’ model hawkmoth , 1997 .

[58]  J. Gordon Leishman,et al.  Experimental Studies on Insect-Based Flapping Wings for Micro Hovering Air Vehicles , 2005 .

[59]  T.N. Pornsin-Sirirak,et al.  MEMS wing technology for a battery-powered ornithopter , 2000, Proceedings IEEE Thirteenth Annual International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (Cat. No.00CH36308).

[60]  H. Park,et al.  Characteristics of an Insect-mimicking Flapping System Actuated by a Unimorph Piezoceramic Actuator , 2008 .

[61]  M. Goldfarb,et al.  Passive aeroelastic tailoring for optimal flapping wings , 2000 .

[62]  Bor-Jang Tsai,et al.  Design and aerodynamic analysis of a flapping-wing micro aerial vehicle , 2009 .

[63]  Joon-Hyuk Park,et al.  Designing a Biomimetic Ornithopter Capable of Sustained and Controlled Flight , 2008 .

[64]  Sujoy Mukherjee,et al.  Non-linear Dynamic Analysis of a Piezoelectrically Actuated Flapping Wing , 2010 .

[65]  S. Thomson,et al.  High-Speed, Three-Dimensional Quantification of Ladybug ( Hippodamia convergens ) Flapping Wing Kinematics During Takeoff , 2010 .