Event

Maryland Robotics Center Student Seminar: Improving Flight Time in Flapping Wing UAVs

Friday, September 24, 2021
2:00 p.m.
IRB-4105
Lena Johnson
301 405 8870
ljohns14@umd.edu

Improving Flight Time in Flapping Wing UAVs using Bio-Inspired Intermittent Gliding Techniques

Lena Johnson
PhD Student, Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Dr. Hugh Bruck

Abstract
Bio-inspired robotics are robots or robotic systems that have been developed using information from biological systems. Flapping-Wing UAVs are a form of aerial robotics that mimic bird flight to improve aerodynamic capabilities and generate their lift and thrust through various flapping motions. This presentation presents a hybrid flapping-gliding dynamic model for a flapping-wing UAV. The model combines the nonlinear phugoid dynamics of gliding flight, the equations of motion of the onboard servo motors, and an equivalent circuit discharge model for the onboard battery. The resulting state-space representation relates the aerodynamic flight performance to onboard energy utilization: the battery life is expended when the UAV flaps and is preserved when the UAV glides. Performance of intermittent gliding-flapping behavior is evaluated in terms of battery longevity and overall distance travelled.

About the Robotics Student Seminars
The Robotics Student Seminars at the University of Maryland College Park are a student-run series of talks given by current robotics students.

The purpose of these talks is to:

• Encourage interaction between Robotics students from different subfields;
• Provide an opportunity for Robotics students to be aware of and possibly get involved in the research their peers are conducting;
• Provide an opportunity for Robotics students to receive feedback on their current research;
• Provide speaking opportunities for Robotics students.