A tailless aerial robotic flapper reveals that flies use torque coupling in rapid banked turns

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 361; no. 6407; pp. 1089 - 1094
• Main Authors: Karásek, Matěj, Muijres, Florian T, De Wagter, Christophe, Remes, Bart D W, de Croon, Guido C H E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The American Association for the Advancement of Science 14.09.2018
• Subjects: Aerodynamics; Biomimetics; Coupling; Experimental Zoology; Experimentele Zoologie; Flapping wings; Flight; Flight characteristics; Flight control; Flight control systems; Fruit flies; Insect mimicking robots; Insects; Leerstoelgroep Experimentele zoölogie; Maneuvers; Missions; Pitch (inclination); Robot control; Robot dynamics; Robots; Rolling motion; Rotation; Torque; WIAS; Wings; Yaw

Insects are among the most agile natural flyers. Hypotheses on their flight control cannot always be validated by experiments with animals or tethered robots. To this end, we developed a programmable and agile autonomous free-flying robot controlled through bio-inspired motion changes of its flappin...