An Insect-Scale Flapping-Wing Micro Aerial Vehicle Inspired by Tumblers Capable of Uncontrolled Self-Stabilizing Flying
As an emerging frontier in biomimetic intelligent microsystems, insect-scale flapping-wing micro aerial vehicles (FWMAVs) demonstrate significant application potential due to their exceptional maneuverability and stealth capabilities. This study proposes a novel mechanical self-stabilization archite...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Research |
| Online Access: | https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/research.0787 |
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| author | Xiang Lu Yulie Wu Jie Chen Yang Chen Xuezhong Wu Dingbang Xiao |
| author_facet | Xiang Lu Yulie Wu Jie Chen Yang Chen Xuezhong Wu Dingbang Xiao |
| author_sort | Xiang Lu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As an emerging frontier in biomimetic intelligent microsystems, insect-scale flapping-wing micro aerial vehicles (FWMAVs) demonstrate significant application potential due to their exceptional maneuverability and stealth capabilities. This study proposes a novel mechanical self-stabilization architecture validated through systematic engineering design to address the critical challenge of balancing dynamic instability with payload constraints in stable flight control. By integrating a piezoelectric direct-drive actuator to streamline transmission mechanisms with the optimized V-wing configuration, we developed a V-wing FWMAV prototype weighing 204 mg (wingspan: 68 mm) that demonstrates 41.5% enhanced lift performance and 40% reduction in structural asymmetry errors compared to previous iterations. To overcome the inherent limitations of conventional control methods in payload capacity and response latency, we engineered a cylindrically symmetric damping mechanism. Through the symmetrical aerodynamic design of the top layout, this innovation generates 3-dimensional restoring moments through optimized vortex distribution patterns, achieving isotropic damping effects in the vertical axis. Experimental results reveal that the 241-mg Tumbler FWMAV equipped with this damper exhibits breakthrough stabilization performance: Vertical stabilization duration shows 5- and 20-fold improvements over conventional cross-type dampers and undamped systems, respectively, enabling stable untethered hovering flight exceeding 15 s. The established integrated design paradigm combining structural optimization, aerodynamic enhancement, and passive stabilization control provides a new way to the longstanding technical bottleneck between payload capacity and dynamic stability in insect-scale FWMAVs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-30dbf3c2f324441892b4ca3f40e0f768 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2639-5274 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-30dbf3c2f324441892b4ca3f40e0f7682025-08-20T03:16:04ZengAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)Research2639-52742025-01-01810.34133/research.0787An Insect-Scale Flapping-Wing Micro Aerial Vehicle Inspired by Tumblers Capable of Uncontrolled Self-Stabilizing FlyingXiang Lu0Yulie Wu1Jie Chen2Yang Chen3Xuezhong Wu4Dingbang Xiao5College of Intelligence Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China.College of Intelligence Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China.College of Intelligence Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China.College of Intelligence Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China.College of Intelligence Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China.College of Intelligence Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China.As an emerging frontier in biomimetic intelligent microsystems, insect-scale flapping-wing micro aerial vehicles (FWMAVs) demonstrate significant application potential due to their exceptional maneuverability and stealth capabilities. This study proposes a novel mechanical self-stabilization architecture validated through systematic engineering design to address the critical challenge of balancing dynamic instability with payload constraints in stable flight control. By integrating a piezoelectric direct-drive actuator to streamline transmission mechanisms with the optimized V-wing configuration, we developed a V-wing FWMAV prototype weighing 204 mg (wingspan: 68 mm) that demonstrates 41.5% enhanced lift performance and 40% reduction in structural asymmetry errors compared to previous iterations. To overcome the inherent limitations of conventional control methods in payload capacity and response latency, we engineered a cylindrically symmetric damping mechanism. Through the symmetrical aerodynamic design of the top layout, this innovation generates 3-dimensional restoring moments through optimized vortex distribution patterns, achieving isotropic damping effects in the vertical axis. Experimental results reveal that the 241-mg Tumbler FWMAV equipped with this damper exhibits breakthrough stabilization performance: Vertical stabilization duration shows 5- and 20-fold improvements over conventional cross-type dampers and undamped systems, respectively, enabling stable untethered hovering flight exceeding 15 s. The established integrated design paradigm combining structural optimization, aerodynamic enhancement, and passive stabilization control provides a new way to the longstanding technical bottleneck between payload capacity and dynamic stability in insect-scale FWMAVs.https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/research.0787 |
| spellingShingle | Xiang Lu Yulie Wu Jie Chen Yang Chen Xuezhong Wu Dingbang Xiao An Insect-Scale Flapping-Wing Micro Aerial Vehicle Inspired by Tumblers Capable of Uncontrolled Self-Stabilizing Flying Research |
| title | An Insect-Scale Flapping-Wing Micro Aerial Vehicle Inspired by Tumblers Capable of Uncontrolled Self-Stabilizing Flying |
| title_full | An Insect-Scale Flapping-Wing Micro Aerial Vehicle Inspired by Tumblers Capable of Uncontrolled Self-Stabilizing Flying |
| title_fullStr | An Insect-Scale Flapping-Wing Micro Aerial Vehicle Inspired by Tumblers Capable of Uncontrolled Self-Stabilizing Flying |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Insect-Scale Flapping-Wing Micro Aerial Vehicle Inspired by Tumblers Capable of Uncontrolled Self-Stabilizing Flying |
| title_short | An Insect-Scale Flapping-Wing Micro Aerial Vehicle Inspired by Tumblers Capable of Uncontrolled Self-Stabilizing Flying |
| title_sort | insect scale flapping wing micro aerial vehicle inspired by tumblers capable of uncontrolled self stabilizing flying |
| url | https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/research.0787 |
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