Study of Microflight

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The mechanism of insect flight is ifferent from that of aircraft from the aerodynamic point of view. The lift force, which is dominant in high Reynolds number flow, is used in aircraft. On the other hand, insects apply the drag force by flapping. We've recorded flapping motion which applies elastic deformation with a high-speed camera. Asymmetric deformation of wings produces an upward force.In 1994, we analyzed steady flight of butterflies with a high-speed camera. In addition, take-off flight was examined in 1995. Since the body moves around the horizontal axis during steady flight, it is difficult to generate an upward force from the difference between an upstroke and a downstroke. Conversely, the body moves around the vertical axis when taking off. Namely, even symmetric flapping produces an upward force in take-off flight.Finally, the optimal wing shape has been determined experimentally by changing wing elasticity, aspect ratio, and mass distribution as parameters. Pneumatic actuators were built for flapping actuators which should be light. Take-off flight which is constrained to the vertical axis is achieved by combining elastically deformable wings and pneumatic actuators. Our next goal is to achieve 3D free flight including attitude control.