Journals Proceedings

Abstract

This project aims at the development of a bio-mimetic propulsion mechanism for a Flapping Wing Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (SUAV), with the addition of tilt rotors in the design for stability. The purpose of this design is to benefit the surveillance system of our country during disaster, combat and spying missions. A key benefit of flapping wing flight is low frequency wing flapping, enabling very quiet flight relative to propeller-driven aircraft. The aerodynamic and kinematic pattern of hummingbirds, bats, insects and small birds are summarized. Based on this review several different concepts of mechanisms for flapping wings are generated, which are separated for the flapping motion and the pitching motion. The specifications of the tilt rotors are studied. This artificial bird will be the size of approximately 1000 grams. This artificial bird has two levels, ground level consisting of a pair of tilt rotors, first level consisting of a pair of wings and the last level consisting of the stabilizers. Using a qualitative evaluation, the quality of the concepts are determined according to different criteria such as weight, size, robustness, mechanical complexity, expected power consumption and accuracy.