Classification of Flapping Wing Mechanisms for Micro Air Vehicles

The purpose of this paper is to categorize the current state of technology in flapping wing mechanisms of micro air vehicles (MAVs). One of the major components of MAVs is the flapping mechanism, which actuates wings to generate sufficient lift and propulsion force. The goal of the flapping wing mechanism design is to develop a highly efficient and highly robust mechanism, which converts the input motion, either rotational or translational, to a beating motion at a frequency ranging from several to hundreds of Hz. The current practice of designing flapping mechanisms follows an ad-hoc approach with multiple design, build, and test cycles. This design process is very inefficient, costly, time-consuming, and not applicable to mass production of MAVs. This work will be an important step towards a systematic approach for the design of flapping mechanisms for MAVs. In this paper, we will study 15 flapping mechanisms used in recent MAV projects worldwide. We classify these mechanisms based on workspace, compliant or rigid body, type synthesis, mobility, and actuator type. This survey of mechanism classification will serve as a resource for the continued design and development of smaller and more efficient MAVs.Copyright © 2012 by ASME

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