Insect-like Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicles

Micro air vehicles (MAVs) are defined as flying vehicles ca 6inch in size (hand-held). The main motivation for their development is a need for aerial reconnaissance assets for confined spaces (inside buildings, tunnels etc). This requires a distinct flight envelope with emphasis on low speed (a few mph), ability to hover (for precise observation) and high agility at the low speeds (for obstacle avoidance). Such an envelope is unlikely to be achieved by scaled-down conventional designs of either fixed wing/forward thrust aircraft or rotorcraft. Hence the attraction of flapping flight, which is highly successful in nature for the required mode of MAV operation. In particular, the insect-like flapping seems advantageous, both from the manoeuvrability and power efficiency viewpoints. This presentation will summarise the main directions and results of the last seven years of research on insect-like flapping wing AVs at Shrivenham. Among others, two electromechanical flapping wing mechanisms will be described, aerodynamic modelling of the flow involved in hover and also flight dynamics and control issues.