Flapping Aerial Vehicles

BatBot -- the first morphing wing flapping robot

There is biological evidence that the inertial forces produced by the wings have a key role in the attitude movements of the animal. This has inspired the design of a highly articulated morphing-wing micro aerial vehicle.

  1. -Each wing has 6 Degrees of Freedom (one actuated)

  2. -SMA-based actuators are used as biceps/triceps artificial muscles

  3. -SMAs are also sensors -- they provide position measurements

The compliant flapping mechanism helps reducing power consumption and reduces shocks, which allow longer flights and/or higher payloads, lighter structures and better flight stability.