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Bio-Inspired Flight Systems and Bionic Aerodynamics 2.0

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A special issue of Biomimetics (ISSN 2313-7673). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioinspired Sensorics, Information Processing and Control".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2023) | Viewed by 16545

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jiang Zhao

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Guest Editor

School of Automation Science and Electrical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China
Interests: flight control; intelligent control; neuromorphic vision sensors; bio-inspired navigation; learning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Xiangyin Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Faculty of Information Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
Interests: flight systems; bio-inspired computing; bio-inspired robotics; swarm intelligence

Dr. Chunhe Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

The School of Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: intelligent systems; artificial intelligent; bio-inspired robotics; bio-inspired navigation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

To survive in complex and uncertain environments both robustly and efficiently, flight systems must deal with many challenges, such as modelling and analysis, perception, navigation, planning, maneuvering, communication, and interactive tasks with humans, all in varying environmental conditions. Biomimetic technologies have been employed to advance the development of flight systems, and by mimicking natural creatures, biological principles can be translated into intelligent solutions that focus on improving robustness, adaptability, and cognitive and collaborative functionalities.

This Special Issue aims to exhibit new research achievements, findings and ideas in flight systems that benefit from biomimetic algorithms and methods. Fundamental capabilities can be enhanced, including the design of flight vehicle aerodynamics, the study of deformation motion modes, the analysis of wing/rotor/body aerodynamic performance, and other new advances in theoretical, experimental, and computational approaches to bionic aerodynamics applications.

This Special Issue will also focus on recent progress in multi-disciplinary biomimetic technologies that have practical potential, such as bio-inspired actuators, neuromorphic vision sensors for perception, biomimetic planning algorithms, bio-inspired learning and control, and biomimetic approaches for human-friendly interaction. To understand and adapt the new principles of bio-inspired solutions to flight systems, some tasks can be also implemented, including GPS-denied navigation, moving object detection and tracking, obstacle and collision avoidance, and swarm intelligence for cooperative flying.

Topics in academic research and industry include, but are not limited to:

Advances in bionic aerodynamics;
Mechanical design of bionic flying vehicles;
Bio-inspired sensors and actuators;
Bio-inspired motion planning;
Bio-inspired learning and control;
Bio-inspired autonomous navigation;
Applications of bio-inspired flight systems.

Dr. Jiang Zhao
Dr. Xiangyin Zhang
Dr. Chunhe Hu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomimetics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

bio-inspired flight systems
bionic aerodynamics
sensors
actuators
motion planning
learning
control
navigation
swarm intelligence

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 7330 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design and Optimization of UAV Aerial Recovery System Based on Cable-Driven Parallel Robot

by Jun Wu, Yizhang Sun, Honghao Yue, Junyi Yang, Fei Yang and Yong Zhao

Biomimetics 2024, 9(2), 111; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics9020111 - 14 Feb 2024

Viewed by 1185

Abstract

Aerial recovery and redeployment can effectively increase the operating radius and the endurance of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). However, the challenge lies in the effect of the aerodynamic force on the recovery system, and the existing road-based and sea-based UAV recovery methods are no longer applicable. Inspired by the predatory behavior of net-casting spiders, this study introduces a cable-driven parallel robot (CDPR) for UAV aerial recovery, which utilizes an end-effector camera to detect the UAV’s flight trajectory, and the CDPR dynamically adjusts its spatial position to intercept and recover the UAV. This paper establishes a comprehensive cable model, simultaneously considering the elasticity, mass, and aerodynamic force, and the static equilibrium equation for the CDPR is derived. The effects of the aerodynamic force and cable tension on the spatial configuration of the cable are analyzed. Numerical computations yield the CDPR’s end-effector position error and cable-driven power consumption at discrete spatial points, and the results show that the position error decreases but the power consumption increases with the increase in the cable tension lower limit (CTLL). To improve the comprehensive performance of the recovery system, a multi-objective optimization method is proposed, considering the error distribution, power consumption distribution, and safety distance. The optimized CTLL and interception space position coordinates are determined through simulation, and comparative analysis with the initial condition indicates an 83% reduction in error, a 62.3% decrease in power consumption, and a 1.2 m increase in safety distance. This paper proposes a new design for a UAV aerial recovery system, and the analysis lays the groundwork for future research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Inspired Flight Systems and Bionic Aerodynamics 2.0)

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14 pages, 4469 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Aerodynamic Effect of Biomimetic Pigeon Feathered Wing on a 1-DoF Flapping Mechanism

by Szu-I Yeh and Chen-Yu Hsu

Biomimetics 2024, 9(1), 36; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics9010036 - 5 Jan 2024

Viewed by 1450

Abstract

This study focused on designing a single-degree-of-freedom (1-DoF) mechanism emulating the wings of rock pigeons. Three wing models were created: one with REAL feathers from a pigeon, and the other two models with 3D-printed artificial remiges made using different strengths of material, PLA and PETG. Aerodynamic performance was assessed in a wind tunnel under both stationary (0 m/s) and cruising speed (16 m/s) with flapping frequencies from 3.0 to 6.0 Hz. The stiffness of remiges was examined through three-point bending tests. The artificial feathers made of PLA have greater rigidity than REAL feathers, while PETG, on the other hand, exhibits the weakest strength. At cruising speed, although the artificial feathers exhibit more noticeable feather splitting and more pronounced fluctuations in lift during the flapping process compared to REAL feathers due to the differences in weight and stiffness distribution, the PETG feathered wing showed the highest lift enhancement (28% of pigeon body weight), while the PLA feathered wing had high thrust but doubled drag, making them inefficient in cruising. The PETG feathered wing provided better propulsion efficiency than the REAL feathered wing. Despite their weight, artificial feathered wings outperformed REAL feathers in 1-DoF flapping motion. This study shows the potential for artificial feathers in improving the flight performance of Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicles (FWMAVs). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Inspired Flight Systems and Bionic Aerodynamics 2.0)

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16 pages, 4291 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bio-Inspired Fault Diagnosis for Aircraft Fuel Pumps Using a Cloud-Edge System

by Yang Miao, Yantang Li, Jun Pan, Zhen Liu, Lei Liu, Zeng Wang and Zijing Wang

Biomimetics 2023, 8(8), 601; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8080601 - 13 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1151

Abstract

The fuel pump serves as the central component of the aircraft fuel system, necessitating real-time data acquisition for monitoring purposes. As the number of sensors increases, there is a substantial rise in data volume, leading to a simultaneous increase in computational processing for traditional Prognostics and Health Management methods while computational efficiency decreases. In response to this challenge, a novel health monitoring approach for aircraft fuel pumps is proposed based on the collaborative utilization of cloud-edge resources. This approach enables efficient cooperation among the sensor side, edge side, and cloud side to achieve timely fault warnings and accurate fault classification for fuel pumps. Within this method, anomaly judgment tasks are allocated to the edge side, and an anomaly judgment method that integrates the 3σ threshold and “3/5 strategy” is devised. Additionally, a fault diagnosis algorithm, founded on a convolutional auto-encoder, is formulated in the cloud to discern various fault types and severities. Comparative results demonstrate that, in contrast to long short-term memory networks, convolutional neural networks, extreme learning machines, and support vector machines, the proposed method yields improvements in accuracy of 4.35%, 6.40%, 17.65%, and 19.35%, respectively. Consequently, it is evident that the proposed method exhibits notable efficacy in the condition monitoring of aircraft fuel pumps. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Inspired Flight Systems and Bionic Aerodynamics 2.0)

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24 pages, 9750 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Experimental and Simulation Study of the Active Camber Morphing Concept on Airfoils Using Bio-Inspired Structures

by Alexsteven Dharmdas, Arun Y. Patil, Azar Baig, Owais Z. Hosmani, Shridhar N. Mathad, Mallikarjunagouda B. Patil, Raman Kumar, Basavaraj B. Kotturshettar and Islam Md Rizwanul Fattah

Biomimetics 2023, 8(2), 251; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8020251 - 13 Jun 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2223

Abstract

Birds are capable of morphing their wings across different flight modes and speeds to improve their aerodynamic performance. In light of this, the study aims to investigate a more optimized solution compared to conventional structural wing designs. The design challenges faced by the aviation industry today require innovative techniques to improve flight efficiency and minimize environmental impact. This study focuses on the aeroelastic impact validation of wing trailing edge morphing, which undergoes significant structural changes to enhance performance as per mission requirements. The approach to design-concept, modeling, and construction described in this study is generalizable and requires lightweight and actively deformable structures. The objective of this work is to demonstrate the aerodynamic efficiency of an innovative structural design and trailing edge morphing concept compared to conventional wing-flap configurations. The analysis revealed that the maximum displacement at a 30-degree deflection is 47.45 mm, while the maximum stress is 21 MPa. Considering that the yield strength of ABS material is 41.14 MPa, this kerf morphing structure, with a safety factor of 2.5, can withstand both structural and aerodynamic loads. The analysis results of the flap and morph configurations showed a 27% efficiency improvement, which was confirmed through the convergence criteria in ANSYS CFX. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Inspired Flight Systems and Bionic Aerodynamics 2.0)

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24 pages, 7357 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Bio-Inspired Decision-Making Method of UAV Swarm for Attack-Defense Confrontation via Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning

by Pei Chi, Jiahong Wei, Kun Wu, Bin Di and Yingxun Wang

Biomimetics 2023, 8(2), 222; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8020222 - 25 May 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1672

Abstract

The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarm is regarded as having a significant role in modern warfare. The demand for UAV swarms with the capability of attack-defense confrontation is urgent. The existing decision-making methods of UAV swarm confrontation, such as multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL), suffer from an exponential increase in training time as the size of the swarm increases. Inspired by group hunting behavior in nature, this paper presents a new bio-inspired decision-making method for UAV swarms for attack-defense confrontation via MARL. Firstly, a UAV swarm decision-making framework for confrontation based on grouping mechanisms is established. Secondly, a bio-inspired action space is designed, and a dense reward is added to the reward function to accelerate the convergence speed of training. Finally, numerical experiments are conducted to evaluate the performance of our method. The experiment results show that the proposed method can be applied to a swarm of 12 UAVs, and when the maximum acceleration of the enemy UAV is within 2.5 times ours, the swarm can well intercept the enemy, and the success rate is above 91%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Inspired Flight Systems and Bionic Aerodynamics 2.0)

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18 pages, 5312 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Aspect Ratio Effects on the Aerodynamic Performance of a Biomimetic Hummingbird Wing in Flapping

by Yilong Min, Gengyao Zhao, Dingyi Pan and Xueming Shao

Biomimetics 2023, 8(2), 216; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8020216 - 23 May 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2016

Abstract

Hummingbirds are flapping winged creatures with unique flight mechanisms. Their flight pattern is more similar to insects than other birds. Because their flight pattern provides a large lift force at a very small scale, hummingbirds can remain hovering while flapping. This feature is of high research value. In order to understand the high-lift mechanism of hummingbirds’ wings, in this study a kinematic model is established based on hummingbirds’ hovering and flapping process, and wing models imitating the wing of a hummingbird are designed with different aspect ratios. Therefore, with the help of computational fluid dynamics methods, the effect of aspect ratio changes on the aerodynamic characteristics of hummingbirds’ hovering and flapping are explored in this study. Through two different quantitative analysis methods, the results of lift coefficient and drag coefficient show completely opposite trends. Therefore, lift–drag ratio is introduced to better evaluate aerodynamic characteristics under different aspect ratios, and it is found that the lift–drag ratio reaches a higher value when AR = 4. A similar conclusion is also reached following research on the power factor, which shows that the biomimetic hummingbird wing with AR = 4 has better aerodynamic characteristics. Furthermore, the study of the pressure nephogram and vortices diagram in the flapping process are examined, leading to elucidation of the effect of aspect ratio on the flow field around hummingbirds’ wings and how these effects ultimately lead to changes in the aerodynamic characteristics of the birds’ wings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Inspired Flight Systems and Bionic Aerodynamics 2.0)

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19 pages, 8952 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Kinematic Investigations of a Novel Flapping Actuation Design with Mutually Perpendicular 3 Cylindrical Joint Approach for FW-Drones

by Spoorthi Singh, Mohammad Zuber, Mohd Nizar Hamidon, Adi Azriff Basri, Norkhairunnisa Mazlan and Kamarul Arifin Ahmad

Biomimetics 2023, 8(2), 160; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8020160 - 17 Apr 2023

Viewed by 1644

Abstract

The transmission mechanism of artificial flapping-wing drones generally needs low weight and the fewest interconnecting components, making their development challenging. The four-bar Linkage mechanism for flapping actuation has generally been used till now with complex and heavy connecting designs, but our proposed novel perpendicularly organized 3-cylindrical joint mechanism is designed to be unique and lighter weight with smooth functioning performance. The proposed prototype transforms the rotary motion of the motor into a specific angle of flapping movement, where the dimensions and specifications of the design components are proportional to the obtained flapping angle. Power consumption and flapping actuation can be monitored by adjusting the motor’s rotational speed to control the individual wing in this mechanism. The proposed mechanism consists of a crank with three slightly slidable cylindrical joints perpendicularly arranged to each other with a specified distance in a well-organized pattern to produce a flapping movement at the other end. In order to examine the kinematic attributes, a mathematical process approach is formulated, and kinematic simulations are performed using SIMSCAPE multibody MATLAB, PYTHON programming and COMPMECH GIM software. The proposed invention’s real-time test bench prototype model is designed, tested and analyzed for flapping validation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Inspired Flight Systems and Bionic Aerodynamics 2.0)

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Review

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28 pages, 8105 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Retrospective of Project Robo Raven: Developing New Capabilities for Enhancing the Performance of Flapping Wing Aerial Vehicles

by Hugh A. Bruck and Satyandra K. Gupta

Biomimetics 2023, 8(6), 485; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8060485 - 12 Oct 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1586

Abstract

Flapping Wing Air Vehicles (FWAVs) have proven to be attractive alternatives to fixed wing and rotary air vehicles at low speeds because of their bio-inspired ability to hover and maneuver. However, in the past, they have not been able to reach their full potential due to limitations in wing control and payload capacity, which also has limited endurance. Many previous FWAVs used a single actuator that couples and synchronizes motions of the wings to flap both wings, resulting in only variable rate flapping control at a constant amplitude. Independent wing control is achieved using two servo actuators that enable wing motions for FWAVs by programming positions and velocities to achieve desired wing shapes and associated aerodynamic forces. However, having two actuators integrated into the flying platform significantly increases its weight and makes it more challenging to achieve flight than a single actuator. This article presents a retrospective overview of five different designs from the “Robo Raven” family based on our previously published work. The first FWAVs utilize two servo motors to achieve independent wing control. The basic platform is capable of successfully performing dives, flips, and button hook turns, which demonstrates the potential maneuverability afforded by the independently actuated and controlled wings. Subsequent designs in the Robo Raven family were able to use multifunctional wings to harvest solar energy to overcome limitations on endurance, use on-board decision-making capabilities to perform maneuvers autonomously, and use mixed-mode propulsion to increase payload capacity by exploiting the benefits of fixed and flapping wing flight. This article elucidates how each successive version of the Robo Raven platform built upon the findings from previous generations. The Robo Raven family collectively addresses requirements related to control autonomy, energy autonomy, and maneuverability. We conclude this article by identifying new opportunities for research in avian-scale flapping wing aerial vehicles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Inspired Flight Systems and Bionic Aerodynamics 2.0)

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19 pages, 2356 KiB

Open AccessReview

Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis in Biomimetics Applications: A Review from Aerospace Engineering Perspective

by Ernnie Illyani Basri, Adi Azriff Basri and Kamarul Arifin Ahmad

Biomimetics 2023, 8(3), 319; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8030319 - 20 Jul 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2680

Abstract

In many modern engineering fields, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been adopted as a methodology to solve complex problems. CFD is becoming a key component in developing updated designs and optimization through computational simulations, resulting in lower operating costs and enhanced efficiency. Even though the biomimetics application is complex in adapting nature to inspire new capabilities for exciting future technologies, the recent CFD in biomimetics is more accessible and practicable due to the availability of high-performance hardware and software with advances in computer sciences. Many simulations and experimental results have been used to study the analyses in biomimetics applications, particularly those related to aerospace engineering. There are numerous examples of biomimetic successes that involve making simple copies, such as the use of fins for swimming or the mastery of flying, which became possible only after the principles of aerodynamics were better understood. Therefore, this review discusses the essential methodology of CFD as a reliable tool for researchers in understanding the technology inspired by nature and an outlook for potential development through simulations. CFD plays a major role as decision support prior to undertaking a real commitment to execute any design inspired by nature and providing the direction to develop new capabilities of technologies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Inspired Flight Systems and Bionic Aerodynamics 2.0)

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