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Biomimetics
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Biomechanics and Biomimetics for Insect-Inspired MAVs
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Biomechanics and Biomimetics for Insect-Inspired MAVs

A special issue of Biomimetics (ISSN 2313-7673).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2025 | Viewed by 4387

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Jiyu Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education, China), Jilin University, Changchun 130022, China
Interests: insect flight biomimetics; micro aerial vehicles; agricultural biomimetic machinery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Zhijun Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of CNC Equipment Reliability (Ministry of Education), School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130022, China
Interests: intelligent engineering and advanced design theory; micro aircraft; engineering biomimetic technology
Dr. Chao Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215137, China
Interests: design of flapping wing micro aerial vehicles; low Reynolds number aerodynamics; micro biomimetic robots

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biomechanics and biomimetics play a crucial role in the development of insect-inspired micro air vehicles (MAVs). The goal of this Special Issue is to gather contributions from various research efforts focused on unraveling the flight mechanics, movement control, and interactions with the environment seen in insects, with the ultimate aim of incorporating these insights into the design of highly agile and efficient MAVs. The intricate flight patterns and physical characteristics of insects provide a blueprint for engineering MAVs that are not only more efficient and durable but also display exceptional maneuverability and stability in diverse atmospheric conditions. This research is poised to advance the fields of robotics, aerospace engineering, and artificial intelligence by leveraging the unique aerodynamic and flight control tactics of insects to create MAVs that surpass traditional aircraft in terms of precision and agility, effectively handling complex tasks such as mimicking pollination, conducting search and rescue operations, and performing environmental surveillance. The forthcoming collection of papers, in an open access format, is anticipated to enhance our understanding of biological flight mechanisms and inspire innovative solutions to challenges in small-scale robotics, paving the way for the creation of autonomous MAVs capable of navigating through intricate and unpredictable environments.

Prof. Dr. Jiyu Sun
Prof. Dr. Zhijun Zhang
Dr. Chao Liu
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

  • insect flight mode
  • mechanical characteristics
  • stability
  • flight mechanics
  • movement control
  • environmental interactions
  • agile design
  • artificial intelligence
  • autonomous navigation

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 26150 KiB  
Article
Analysis and Testing of a Flyable Micro Flapping-Wing Rotor with a Highly Efficient Elastic Mechanism
by Yingjun Pan, Huijuan Su, Shijun Guo, Si Chen and Xun Huang
Biomimetics 2024, 9(12), 737; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics9120737 - 3 Dec 2024
Viewed by 617
Abstract
A Flapping-Wing Rotor (FWR) is a novel bio-inspired micro aerial vehicle configuration, featuring unique wing motions which combine active flapping and passive rotation for high lift production. Power efficiency in flight has recently emerged as a critical factor in FWR development. The current [...] Read more.
A Flapping-Wing Rotor (FWR) is a novel bio-inspired micro aerial vehicle configuration, featuring unique wing motions which combine active flapping and passive rotation for high lift production. Power efficiency in flight has recently emerged as a critical factor in FWR development. The current study investigates an elastic flapping mechanism to improve FWRs’ power efficiency by incorporating springs into the system. The elastic force counteracts the system inertia to accelerate or decelerate the wing motion, reducing the power demand and increasing efficiency. A dynamic model was developed to simulate the unique kinematics of the FWR’s wing motions and its elastic mechanism, considering the coupling of aerodynamic and inertial forces generated by the wings, along with the elastic and driven forces from the mechanism. The effects of the spring stiffness on the aerodynamic performance and power efficiency were investigated. The model was then verified through experimental testing. When a spring stiffness close to the mechanical system resonance was applied, the power efficiency of the test model increased by 16% compared to the baseline model without springs, generating an equivalent average lift. With an optimal elastic flapping mechanism for greater lift and lower power consumption, the FWR was fully constructed with onboard power and a control receiver weighing 27.79 g, successfully achieving vertical take-off flight. The current model produces ten times greater lift and has nearly double the wing area of the first 2.6 g flyable FWR prototype. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomechanics and Biomimetics for Insect-Inspired MAVs)
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20 pages, 8018 KiB  
Article
Biomimetic Wings for Micro Air Vehicles
by Giorgio Moscato and Giovanni P. Romano
Biomimetics 2024, 9(9), 553; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics9090553 - 14 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 825
Abstract
In this work, micro air vehicles (MAVs) equipped with bio-inspired wings are investigated experimentally in wind tunnel. The starting point is that insects such as dragonflies, butterflies and locusts have wings with rigid tubular elements (corrugation) connected by flexible parts (profiling). So far, [...] Read more.
In this work, micro air vehicles (MAVs) equipped with bio-inspired wings are investigated experimentally in wind tunnel. The starting point is that insects such as dragonflies, butterflies and locusts have wings with rigid tubular elements (corrugation) connected by flexible parts (profiling). So far, it is important to understand the specific aerodynamic effects of corrugation and profiling as applied to conventional wings for the optimization of low-Reynolds-number aerodynamics. The present study, in comparison to previous investigations on the topic, considers whole MAVs rather than isolated wings. A planform with a low aperture-to-chord ratio is employed in order to investigate the interaction between large tip vortices and the flow over the wing surface at large angles of incidence. Comparisons are made by measuring global aerodynamic loads using force balance, specifically drag and lift, and detailed local velocity fields over wing surfaces, by means of particle image velocimetry (PIV). This type of combined global–local investigation allows describing and relating overall MAV performance to detailed high-resolution flow fields. The results indicate that the combination of wing corrugation and profiling gives effective enhancements in performance, around 50%, in comparison to the classical flat-plate configuration. These results are particularly relevant in the framework of low-aspect-ratio MAVs, undergoing beneficial interactions between tip vortices and large-scale separation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomechanics and Biomimetics for Insect-Inspired MAVs)
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20 pages, 6470 KiB  
Article
Bionic 3D Path Planning for Plant Protection UAVs Based on Swarm Intelligence Algorithms and Krill Swarm Behavior
by Nuo Xu, Haochen Zhu and Jiyu Sun
Biomimetics 2024, 9(6), 353; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics9060353 - 13 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1054
Abstract
The protection of plants in mountainous and hilly areas differs from that in plain areas due to the complex terrain, which divides the work plot into many narrow plots. When designing the path planning method for plant protection UAVs, it is important to [...] Read more.
The protection of plants in mountainous and hilly areas differs from that in plain areas due to the complex terrain, which divides the work plot into many narrow plots. When designing the path planning method for plant protection UAVs, it is important to consider the generality in different working environments. To address issues such as poor path optimization, long operation time, and excessive iterations required by traditional swarm intelligence algorithms, this paper proposes a bionic three-dimensional path planning algorithm for plant protection UAVs. This algorithm aims to plan safe and optimal flight paths between work plots obstructed by multiple obstacle areas. Inspired by krill group behavior and based on group intelligence algorithm theory, the bionic three-dimensional path planning algorithm consists of three states: “foraging behavior”, “avoiding enemy behavior”, and “cruising behavior”. The current position information of the UAV in the working environment is used to switch between these states, and the optimal path is found after several iterations, which realizes the adaptive global and local convergence of the track planning, and improves the convergence speed and accuracy of the algorithm. The optimal flight path is obtained by smoothing using a third-order B-spline curve. Three sets of comparative simulation experiments are designed to verify the performance of this proposed algorithm. The results show that the bionic swarm intelligence algorithm based on krill swarm behavior reduces the path length by 1.1~17.5%, the operation time by 27.56~75.15%, the path energy consumption by 13.91~27.35%, and the number of iterations by 46~75% compared with the existing algorithms. The proposed algorithm can shorten the distance of the planned path more effectively, improve the real-time performance, and reduce the energy consumption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomechanics and Biomimetics for Insect-Inspired MAVs)
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20 pages, 4350 KiB  
Article
Research on Deployable Wings for MAVs Bioinspired by the Hind Wings of the Beetle Protaetia brevitarsis
by Jiyu Sun, Wenzhe Wang, Pengpeng Li and Zhijun Zhang
Biomimetics 2024, 9(6), 313; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics9060313 - 23 May 2024
Viewed by 1232
Abstract
Deployable hind wings of beetles led to a bio-inspired idea to design deployable micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) to meet the requirement of miniaturization. In this paper, a bionic deployable wing (BD-W) model is designed based on the folding mechanism and elliptical wing vein [...] Read more.
Deployable hind wings of beetles led to a bio-inspired idea to design deployable micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) to meet the requirement of miniaturization. In this paper, a bionic deployable wing (BD-W) model is designed based on the folding mechanism and elliptical wing vein structure of the Protaetia brevitarsis hindwing, and its structural static and aerodynamic characteristics are analyzed by using ANSYS Workbench. Finally, the 3D-printed bionic deployable wing was tested in a wind tunnel and compared with simulation experiments to explore the effects of different incoming velocity, flapping frequency, and angle of attack on its aerodynamic characteristics, which resulted in the optimal combination of the tested parameters, among which, the incoming velocity is 3 m/s, the flapping frequency is 10 Hz, the angle of attack is 15°, and the lift-to-drag ratio of this parameter combination is 4.91. The results provide a theoretical basis and technical reference for the further development of bionic flapping wing for MAV applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomechanics and Biomimetics for Insect-Inspired MAVs)
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