A novel insect-inspired
flying robot, developed by TU Delft researchers from the Micro Air
Vehicle Laboratory (MAVLab), has been presented in Science (14 September 2018). Experiments with this first autonomous, free-flying and agile flapping-wing robot – carried out in collaboration with Wageningen University & Research –
improved our understanding of how fruit flies control aggressive escape
manoeuvres. Apart from its further potential in insect flight research,
the robot’s exceptional flight qualities open up new drone
applications.
Flying animals both power and
control flight by flapping their wings. This enables small natural
flyers such as insects to hover close to a flower, but also to rapidly
escape danger, which everyone has witnessed when trying to swat a fly.
Animal flight has always drawn the attention of biologists, who not only
study their complex wing motion patterns and aerodynamics, but also
their sensory and neuro-motor systems during such agile manoeuvres.
Recently, flying animals have also become a source of inspiration for
robotics researchers, who try to develop lightweight flying robots that
are agile, power-efficient and even scalable to insect sizes.
Novel highly agile flying robot TU Delft researchers from the
MAVLab have developed a novel insect-inspired flying robot; so far
unmatched in its performance, and yet with a simple and easy-to-produce
design. As in flying insects, the robot’s flapping wings, beating 17
times per second, not only generate the lift force needed to stay
airborne but also control the flight via minor adjustments in the wing
motion. Inspired by fruit flies, the robot’s control mechanisms have
proved to be highly effective, allowing it not only to hover on the spot
and fly in any direction but also be very agile.
’The robot has a top speed of
25 km/h and can even perform aggressive manoeuvres, such as 360-degree
flips, resembling loops and barrel rolls', says Matěj Karásek, the first
author of the study and main designer of the robot. ’Moreover, the 33
cm wingspan and 29 gram robot has, for its size, excellent power
efficiency, allowing 5 minutes of hovering flight or more than a 1 km
flight range on a fully charged battery.’
’The robot has a top speed of
25 km/h and can even perform aggressive manoeuvres, such as 360-degree
flips, resembling loops and barrel rolls'
Research on fruit fly escape manoeuvres Apart from being a novel,
autonomous micro-drone, the robot’s flight performances, combined with
its programmability also make it well suited for research into insect
flight. To this end, TU Delft has collaborated with Wageningen
University. ’When I first saw the robot flying, I was amazed at how
closely its flight resembled that of insects, especially when
manoeuvring. I immediately thought we could actually employ it to
research insect flight control and dynamics‘, says Prof. Florian
Muijres from the Experimental Zoology group of Wageningen University
& Research. Due to Prof. Muijres’ previous work on fruit flies, the
team decided to program the robot to mimic the hypothesized control
actions of these insects during high-agility escape manoeuvres, such as
those used when we try to swat them.
The manoeuvres performed by
the robot closely resembled those observed in fruit flies. The robot was
even able to demonstrate how fruit flies control the turn angle to
maximize their escape performance. ’In contrast to animal experiments,
we were in full control of what was happening in the robot’s ”brain”.
This allowed us to identify and describe a new passive aerodynamic
mechanism that assists the flies, but possibly also other flying
animals, in steering their direction throughout these rapid banked
turns‘, adds Karásek.
'Insect-inspired drones have a high potential for novel applications, as
they are light-weight, safe around humans and are able to fly more
efficiently than more traditional drone designs'
Potential for future applications The MAVLab has been developing
insect-inspired flying robots for over 10 years within the DelFly
project. The MAVLab scientific leader, Prof. Guido de Croon, says:
’Insect-inspired drones have a high potential for novel applications, as
they are light-weight, safe around humans and are able to fly more
efficiently than more traditional drone designs, especially at smaller
scales. However, until now, these flying robots had not realized this
potential since they were either not agile enough – such as our DelFly
II – or they required an overly complex manufacturing process.’ The
robot in this study, named the DelFly Nimble, builds on established
manufacturing methods, uses off-the-shelf components, and its flight
endurance is long enough to be of interest for real-world applications.
The DelFly Nimble will be
further developed within the TTW project, ’As nimble as a bee‘, which is
a collaboration between TU Delft and Wageningen University, funded by
the Dutch science foundation NWO.
More information A tailless aerial robotic flapper reveals that flies use torque coupling in rapid banked turns Matěj Karásek1*, Florian T. Muijres2, Christophe De Wagter1, Bart D.W. Remes1, Guido C.H.E. de Croon1 1Micro Air Vehicle Laboratory, Control and Simulation, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands. 2Experimental Zoology Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.