Flapping Wings

In nature, birds and insects have developed unique capabilities to fly or hover in one place. Their wings have unique designs and cyclic patterns of movements that allow them to move gracefully while optimizing their performance. A series of studies were conducted in our laboratory to characterize the aerodynamics of flapping wings, demonstrate the effects of spatial compliance, and design flapping wing flying vehicles. A variety of flapping wing vehicles were synthesized and their behaviors were demonstrated through experiments.