Morphing wing technologies for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) inspired by the wing morphing used by birds of prey to achieve stable flight in turbule

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Birds have a remarkable agility and robustness in flight, able to cope with turbulent flows or even blustery conditions and still perform extraordinary aerial manoeuvres. The increasing number of applications arising for Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) during the past decade has highlighted the importance of improvements to their endurance in flight. Their rigid wings, together with their small size and elementary control systems, make them vulnerable against gusty and turbulent environments. Birds' inherent manoeuvrability in flight is fed by a complex sensorimotor loop, together with the ability to morph their wings to change sweep, span and area, to respond to a disturbance in the flowfield. In recent years, an increasing amount of research has been focussed on the study of avian flight, with the goal of improving the performance of small UAVs. This research will analyse the flight dynamics data collected at RMIT University (Melbourne) of a kestrel in a wind tunnel, to then design and build an avian-inspired robotic wing. The wing will then be tested in wind tunnels at the University of Bristol, with the aim of reducing turbulence and gust disturbances. The proposed timeline for the completion of this project will be 3.5 years, where the second year will take place at RMIT University in Australia.