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The unsteady aerodynamic thrust and aeroelastic response of a two-dimensional membrane airfoil under prescribed harmonic motion are investigated computationally with a high-order Navier-Stokes solver coupled to a nonlinear membrane…
In this study, a linear mathematical model representing longitudinal flight dynamics of an airplane is developed and responses of the aircraft during a microburst encounter are investigated. The effects of microburst that are acting on the…
Dynamic morphing wing flights present significant challenges in accurately estimating external forces due to complex interactions between aerodynamics, rapid wing movements, and external disturbances. Traditional force estimation methods…
Flying insects are thought to achieve energy-efficient flapping flight by storing and releasing elastic energy in their muscles, tendons, and thorax. However, flight systems consisting elastic elements coupled to nonlinear, unsteady…
The ground effect on multicopters introduces several challenges, such as control errors caused by additional lift, oscillations that may occur during near-ground flight due to external torques, and the influence of ground airflow on models…
In order to examine the influence of system dynamics on sliding friction, we introduce the so-called micro-walking machine. This model consists of a rigid body with a number of elastic contact spots that is pulled by a constantly moving…
In this paper, we introduce advances in the sensor suite of an autonomous flying insect robot (FIR) weighing less than a gram. FIRs, because of their small weight and size, offer unparalleled advantages in terms of material cost and…
The autonomous operation of flexible-wing aircraft is technically challenging and has never been presented within literature. The lack of an exact modeling framework is due to the complex nonlinear aerodynamic relationships governed by the…
Unmanned aerospace vehicles usually carry sensors (i.e., electro-optical and/or infrared imaging cameras) as their primary payload. These sensors are used for image processing, target tracking, surveillance, mapping, and providing…
Insect flight motors are extraordinary natural structures that operate efficiently at high frequencies. Structural resonance is thought to play a role in ensuring efficient motor operation, but the details of this role are elusive. While…
The estimation of external joint torque and contact wrench is essential for achieving stable locomotion of humanoids and safety-oriented robots. Although the contact wrench on the foot of humanoids can be measured using a force-torque…
Avian-informed drones feature morphing wing and tail surfaces, enhancing agility and adaptability in flight. Despite their large potential, realising their full capabilities remains challenging due to the lack of generalized control…
Drawing inspiration from the adaptive wing shape of birds in flight, this study introduces a bio-inspired concept for shape adaptation utilizing bend-twist coupling (BTC) in composite laminates. The primary aim of the design optimization is…
In this paper, we study the control design of an automatic crosswind stabilization system for a novel, buoyantly-assisted aerial transportation vehicle. This vehicle has several advantages over other aircraft including the ability to…
This paper introduces a novel compliant mechanism combining lightweight and energy dissipation for aerial physical interaction. Weighting 400~g at take-off, the mechanism is actuated in the forward body direction, enabling precise position…
Inverted landing is a challenging feat to perform in aerial robots, especially without external positioning. However, it is routinely performed by biological fliers such as bees, flies, and bats. Our previous observations of landing…
While engineers put lots of effort, resources, and time in building insect scale micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) that fly like insects, insects themselves are the real masters of flight. What if we would use living insect as platform for MAV…
This paper investigates stability analysis of flapping flight. Due to time-varying aerodynamic forces, such systems do not display fixed points of equilibrium. The problem is therefore approached via a limit cycle analysis based on Floquet…
How should zoomorphic, or bio-inspired, robots indicate to humans that interactions will be safe and fun? Here, a survey is used to measure how human willingness to interact with a simulated butterfly robot is affected by different flight…
We discuss the problem of designing and implementing controllers for insect-scale flapping-wing micro air vehicles (FWMAVs), from a unifying perspective and employing two different experimental platforms; namely, a Harvard RoboBee-like…