Aerodynamics, Stability, Guidance, Navigation and Control of Micro-Air Vehicles: Recent Advances and Challenges

Dear Colleagues,

Micro-air vehicles (MAVs) are small, powered flying aeroelastic systems that are expected to operate in urban environments and confined spaces (e.g., inside buildings, caves, tunnels) and are also needed for inspection and maintenance of a large number of assets including infrastructures, energy generation and distribution systems, and industrial process plants. Hence, the ability of an aerial robotic system to interact physically with objects within its surroundings completely transforms the way we view applications of MAV systems in near-Earth environments. Those vehicles are equipped with sophisticated sensors to be deployed for a variety of arial manipulations. To successfully achieve the aforementioned missions, these systems need to be designed and controlled to satisfy certain performance requirements, such as high maneuverability at low speeds, hovering capabilities while manipulating objects, high lift to sustain flight, and structural strength to survive gust loads and potential shocks with obstacles. These requirements can be achieved mainly through two propulsion mechanisms: rotating helicopter blades or flapping wings. The Special Issue welcomes papers of high scientific quality addressing the aerodynamic aspects, stability characteristics, propulsion mechanisms of MAVs, theoretical and experimental investigations of novel designs, the development and demonstration of advanced control strategies for guidance and navigation for a single and multiple MAVs, new strategies, and methods for aerial manipulation and transport. 

We invite submissions on, but not limited to, the following subject areas:

• Unsteady aerodynamics of flapping/rotating wings;
• Propulsion mechanisms of air vehicles;
• Navigation, guidance, and flight control;
• Cooperative control of aerial vehicles;
• Formation control of MAVs systems;
• Aerial manipulation and control;
• Machine learning for air vehicle applications;
• Bio-inspired air vehicle designs;
• Structural analysis of air vehicles;
• Flight tests.

Dr. Mehdi Ghommem
Dr. Jawher Ghommam
Dr. Brahim Brahmi
Prof. Dr. Quanmin Zhu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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