Neurobiologically Inspired Control of Engineered Flapping Flight

This article presents a new control approach and dynamic model for engineered flapping flight with many interacting degrees of freedom. This paper explores the applications of neurobiologically inspired control systems in the form of Central Pattern Generators (CPG) to control flapping flight dynamics. A rigorous mathematical and control theoretic framework to design complex three dimensional wing motions is presented based on phase synchronization and Hopf bifurcation. In particular, we show that tailless aircraft alternating between flapping and gliding can be effectively stabilized by smooth wing motions driven by the CPG network. Furthermore, a novel robotic testbed has been developed to emulate the flight of bats. This model has shoulder and leg joints totaling ten control variables of wing properties. Results of wind tunnel experiments and numerical simulation of CPG-based flight control validate the effectiveness of the proposed neurobiologically inspired control approach.

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