Design of a magnetically actuated flapping wing contrivance

Abstract

Unmanned micro aerial vehicle research is an active area of development due to the vast potential applications. Prior work towards realizing flapping flight has achieved some success however they have relied heavily upon the use of rotary electric motors. These require hinges, sliders, and gears to convert rotary motion to linear reciprocating motion required for flapping flight. This approach is mechanically complex, prone to jamming, inefficient and does not scale well. Therefore, a design for a novel actuator is introduced that enables the substitution of rotary electric motors for one that generates linear reciprocating motion directly. By eliminating the need to convert between rotary and reciprocal motion, substantial efficiency and reliability improvements are possible. Further improvements to the linear actuator are also described that enable independent wing actuation without added complexity or weight. Through bilateral control, a firm command over the flapping dynamics and consequent flight path is possible even while passive wing rotation is employed.