Challenges for micro-scale flapping-wing micro air vehicles

Robert J. Wood; Benjamin Finio; Michael Karpelson; Nestor O. Pérez-Arancibia; Pratheev Sreetharan; John P. Whitney

doi:10.1117/12.918154

7 May 2012 Challenges for micro-scale flapping-wing micro air vehicles

Robert J. Wood, Benjamin Finio, Michael Karpelson, Nestor O. Pérez-Arancibia, Pratheev Sreetharan, John P. Whitney

Proceedings Volume 8373, Micro- and Nanotechnology Sensors, Systems, and Applications IV; 83731J (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.918154
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2012, Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Abstract

The challenges for successful flight of insect-scale micro air vehicles encompass basic questions of fabrication, design, propulsion, actuation, control, and power - topics that have in general been answered for larger aircraft. When developing a flying robot on the scale of flies and bees, all hardware must be developed from scratch as there are no "off-the-shelf" sensors, actuators, or microcontrollers that can satisfy the extreme mass and power limitations imposed by such vehicles. Similar challenges exist for fabrication and assembly of the structural and aeromechanical components of insect-scale micro air vehicles that neither macro-scale techniques nor MEMS can adequately solve. With these challenges in mind, this paper presents progress in the essential technologies for micro-scale flapping-wing robots.

Citation Download Citation

Robert J. Wood, Benjamin Finio, Michael Karpelson, Nestor O. Pérez-Arancibia, Pratheev Sreetharan, and John P. Whitney "Challenges for micro-scale flapping-wing micro air vehicles", Proc. SPIE 8373, Micro- and Nanotechnology Sensors, Systems, and Applications IV, 83731J (7 May 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.918154

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