Agile perching maneuvers in birds and morphing-wing drones

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 8330 - 10
• Main Authors: Wüest, Valentin, Jeger, Simon, Feroskhan, Mir, Ajanic, Enrico, Bergonti, Fabio, Floreano, Dario
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 27.09.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/61/2049; 639/166/984; 639/166/988; Aircraft; Angle of attack; Animals; Biomechanical Phenomena; Bird impact; Birds; Birds - anatomy & histology; Birds - physiology; Control methods; Energy; Energy dissipation; Exploratory behavior; Flight; Flight, Animal - physiology; Hawks - physiology; Humanities and Social Sciences; Kinetic energy; Kinetic energy distribution; Maneuvers; Morphing; multidisciplinary; Optimal control; Parabuteo unicinctus; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Tail - physiology; Wings; Wings, Animal - anatomy & histology; Wings, Animal - physiology
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52369-4
• ISSN: 2041-1723

Avian perching maneuvers are one of the most frequent and agile flight scenarios, where highly optimized flight trajectories, produced by rapid wing and tail morphing that generate high angular rates and accelerations, reduce kinetic energy at impact. While the behavioral, anatomical, and aerodynamic factors involved in these maneuvers are well described, the underlying control strategies are poorly understood. Here, we use optimal control methods on an avian-inspired drone with morphing wing and tail to test a recent hypothesis derived from perching maneuver experiments of Harris’ hawks that birds minimize the distance flown at high angles of attack to dissipate kinetic energy before impact. The resulting drone flight trajectories, morphing sequence, and kinetic energy distribution resemble those measured in birds. Furthermore, experimental manipulation of the wings that would be difficult or unethical with animals reveals the morphing factors that are critical for optimal perching maneuver performance of birds and morphing-wing drones. Birds’ agile perching maneuvers allow large energy dissipation in short approach flights. Here, authors test an objective that birds are hypothesized to employ in perching maneuvers on an avian-inspired drone and find that it mimics the birds’ behavior, enabling exploration of key morphing actuations.