Characteristics of Butterfly Wing Motions and Their Application to Micro Flight Robot

摘要

Many researchers have attempted to develop MAV and micro-flight robot with various actuators and devices so far however their studies have not led to practical applications yet. One of the reasons is that flying mechanism of birds and insects has not been clarified sufficiently. In this study, we evaluate dynamic behaviors of a wing observed from the butterfly's viewpoint in its flight. The authors conduct a flight observation experiment of Cynthia cardui performing a free flight and fixed flight and an image analysis and calculate flapping angles, lead-lag angle and feathering angles of the butterfly performing flapping flight to clarify the relation between them. Furthermore, we aim at developing the micro flight robot like the butterfly using these results. The micro flapping robot flied stably for 12 minutes, which was the battery's duration.