Takeoff of a 2.1 g Fully Untethered Tailless Flapping-Wing Micro Aerial Vehicle With Integrated Battery

Insect-scale micro-aerial vehicles (MAV) are becoming increasingly important for sensing and mapping spatially constrained environments. However, achieving untethered flight powered by a small and lightweight on-board energy source remains a challenge. In this study, we successfully demonstrated the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE robotics and automation letters 2023-06, Vol.8 (6), p.3574-3580
Main Authors: Ozaki, Takashi, Ohta, Norikazu, Jimbo, Tomohiko, Hamaguchi, Kanae
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actuators
Aerial systems: mechanics and control
Aerospace electronics
Aircraft
Batteries
biologically-inspired robots
biomimetics
Circuits
Control stability
Flapping wings
High impedance
Insects
Micro air vehicles (MAV)
Piezoelectric actuators
RLC circuits
Robot sensing systems
Switches
Takeoff
Wireless communications
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Summary:Insect-scale micro-aerial vehicles (MAV) are becoming increasingly important for sensing and mapping spatially constrained environments. However, achieving untethered flight powered by a small and lightweight on-board energy source remains a challenge. In this study, we successfully demonstrated the untethered takeoff of a flapping-wing MAV powered by a commercially available LiPo battery for a short duration without stability control. By incorporating a high-efficiency direct-drive piezoelectric actuator, and an optimized control circuit for high-impedance-width modulation and charge recovery, this electronics configuration realizes over 5 min of practical operation with a thrust of 1.5 times its own weight, while offering wireless communication capability and sensors for attitude estimation. Our MAV has a total mass of 2.1 g, which is an eight-fold reduction compared to the lightest battery-powered tailless flapping-wing MAV currently available, making this the first report of a battery-powered tailless flapping-wing MAV with insect-scale weight.
ISSN:2377-3766
2377-3766
DOI:10.1109/LRA.2023.3269319