MEMS wing technology for a battery-powered ornithopter
- 7 November 2002
- conference paper
- Published by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Abstract
The objective of this project is to develop a battery-powered ornithopter (flapping-wing) Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV) with MEMS wings. In this paper, we present a novel MEMS-based wing technology that we developed using titanium-alloy metal as wingframe and parylene C as wing membrane. MEMS technology enables systematic research in terms of repeatability, size control, and weight minimization. We constructed a high quality low-speed wind tunnel with velocity uniformity of 0.5% and speeds from 1 m/s to 10 m/s. We have tested and have studied the unsteady-state aerodynamics of various types of MEMS wings. Finally, we built lightweight ornithopters with electric-powered transmission system and have demonstrated successful free flights of with flight duration ranges from 5 to 18 seconds.Keywords
This publication has 6 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Flight Performance of A Damselfly Ceriagrion Melanurum SelysJournal of Experimental Biology, 1997
- Aerodynamic Characteristics of the Wings and Body of a DragonflyJournal of Experimental Biology, 1996
- The Aerodynamics of FlightPublished by Springer Nature ,1992
- The Biokinetics of Flying and SwimmingPublished by Springer Nature ,1992
- THE MECHANICS OF BIRD MIGRATIONIbis, 1969
- Aerodynamics of Flapping Flight With Application to InsectsJournal of Experimental Biology, 1951