Multibody Model of an Ornithopter

Abstract

and feedback control techniques. Analysis of inertial properties and previous ight data has led to the development of a multibody model, where the ornithopter is modeled as a collection of chains of rigid body linkages emanating from a central fuselage. The Boltzmann-Hamel equations of motion are employed to generate a state space model which is cast into a form canonical to the nonlinear robotics and adaptive control communities. Software implementation of the symbolic derivation and numerical integration of the equations of motion are discussed. Preliminary results are presented for the simulation of the ornithopter in straight and level ight using a simplied aerodynamics model, which illustrate the trends in measured ight data.