DelFly

Last updated
DelFly Micro, a 3.07 gram camera equipped flapping wing MAV DelFly Micro 2008 V1.jpg
DelFly Micro, a 3.07 gram camera equipped flapping wing MAV

The DelFly [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] is a fully controllable camera-equipped flapping wing Micro Air Vehicle or Ornithopter developed at the Micro Air Vehicle Lab of the Delft University of Technology Archived 2019-10-19 at the Wayback Machine in collaboration with Wageningen University.

Contents

The DelFly project [8] focuses on fully functioning systems and follows a top-down approach toward ever smaller and more autonomous flapping wing MAVs.

The DelFly Micro with its 10 cm wing span and 3.07 grams is the smallest free flying controllable flapping wing MAV equipped with a camera and video transmitter. [9] Smaller flapping wing MAVs exist, but then without an onboard camera. In particular, a hobbyist from Albany NY, built a flapping wing MAV of 920 mg and just 60mm wing span, which is the world's smallest free flying flapper till date.

The 28 centimeter 16 gram DelFly II was capable of vertical take-off and landing and demonstrated simplified forms of autonomous flight, mainly using off-board processing. [4] [6] [10]

The DelFly Explorer [11] measures 28 centimeter while weighing 20 grams and is equipped with a miniature stereo vision system for autonomous flight in buildings.

DelFly Nimble in hover DelFly Nimble.jpg
DelFly Nimble in hover

The DelFly Nimble [12] is a very agile, tailless flapping wing MAV. It steers by modifying the motions of its wings, which allows it to perform high-speed maneuvers such as 360-degree flips. One of its uses is in studying insect flight; mimicking the extremely fast escape maneuvers of fruit flies revealed a new aerodynamic mechanism that helps to make rapid banked turns. The startup company Flapper Drones is developing a commercial version of the DelFly Nimble for applications within the entertainment sector (drone shows, festivals, theme parks). [13]

History

The DelFly project started in 2005 as a Design Synthesis Exercise for a group of Bachelor of Science students at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering of the TU Delft. The flapping wing design was mentored by Wageningen University, [3] the remote control and micro camera integration by Ruijsink Dynamic Engineering, and the real-time image processing by the TU Delft. [14] The result of this exercise was the DelFly I, a 50 cm wingspan, 21 grams flapping wing MAV equipped with a camera. The DelFly I was able to fly both fast and perform slow hovering flight while providing reasonably stable camera images.

In 2007, the DelFly II was created: a 28 cm wing span 16 gram flapping wing MAV equipped with onboard camera. This version was not only smaller, but it had a much broader flight envelope ranging from 7 m/s forward flight to near hovering flight and even backward flight at -1 m/s. In contrast to the DelFly I, the DelFly II could take-off and land vertically. The flight time of the DelFly II was around 15 minutes.

The DelFly II was followed in 2008 by the DelFly Micro, a 10 cm wing span, 3.07 gram flapping wing MAV, also equipped with camera. [15] The DelFly Micro is fully steerable with 3 controls for the throttle, elevator and rudder. Given the limited onboard energy, the flight time of the DelFly Micro was around 2 to 3 minutes. The DelFly Micro featured in the Guinness book of records 2009 as the smallest airplane in the world equipped with a camera.

The DelFly participated in the 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2013 editions of the Micro Air Vehicle Competitions and was the first vehicle to demonstrate fully autonomous indoor flight. [16]

The DelFly Explorer was created in 2013. It has a stereo vision system that allows autonomous obstacle avoidance even in unknown and unprepared environments.

The DelFly Nimble, presented in 2018, is the first tailless DelFly. It is much more agile than earlier designs; it can hover and fly in any direction up until 7 m/s in forward flight. It has a relatively simple design and is based on commercially of the shelf components and 3D printed parts.

In 2019, a technological spinoff of the Delft University of Technology Flapper Drones developing a commercial version of the DelFly Nimble was founded.

Influence

The DelFly is based on scaling relations for the aerodynamic design of flapping wings, [5] which were discovered in the Dickinson lab at Caltech in collaboration with Wageningen University. [3] [17] [18] Earlier research in the Dickinson lab [19] also inspired The Robobee, both the Robobee and the DelFly design originated from research with robot models of flying insects. [20] The DelFly influenced the TechJect Dragonfly UAV and FlyTech Dragonfly among many others refer to DelFly developments.

Design challenges

The design of autonomous, light-weight, less than 20 grams flapping wing MAVs poses challenges in various domains, including materials, electronics, control, aerodynamics, computer vision and artificial intelligence. All these domains feed into each other. For example, studies on the design and aerodynamics of the wings have enhanced the efficiency of flight and the amount of generated lift. This allows for a larger payload to be taken on board, such as more onboard sensors and processing. In turn, such onboard processing can be used to perform automatic maneuvers in a wind tunnel, helping to create better models the DelFly and its low Reynolds aerodynamics.

Applications

Flapping wing MAVs have a natural appearance and are inherently safe by means of their low weight and low speeds of the wings. This makes them particularly suitable for indoor flight, also in the presence of humans. Further, flapping wing MAVs can be used as (augmented reality) toys, but other possible applications include inspection of indoor industrial structures or video streaming of the crowd during indoor events. The DelFly flies well indoors with the air conditioning turned off, and outdoors under very low wind conditions.

The exceptional flight capabilities of the DelFly Nimble, combined with its inherent safety and natural appearance, opened up new applications within the entertainment sector. The startup company Flapper Drones is developing the technology further for drone shows during concerts, festivals and within theme parks.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unmanned aerial vehicle</span> Aircraft without any human pilot on board

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs were originally developed through the twentieth century for military missions too "dull, dirty or dangerous" for humans, and by the twenty-first, they had become essential assets to most militaries. As control technologies improved and costs fell, their use expanded to many non-military applications. These include aerial photography, area coverage, precision agriculture, forest fire monitoring, river monitoring, environmental monitoring, policing and surveillance, infrastructure inspections, smuggling, product deliveries, entertainment, and drone racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microbotics</span> Branch of robotics

Microbotics is the field of miniature robotics, in particular mobile robots with characteristic dimensions less than 1 mm. The term can also be used for robots capable of handling micrometer size components.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornithopter</span> Aircraft which use flapping movement of the wings to generate lift

An ornithopter is an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings. Designers sought to imitate the flapping-wing flight of birds, bats, and insects. Though machines may differ in form, they are usually built on the same scale as flying animals. Larger, crewed ornithopters have also been built and some have been successful. Crewed ornithopters are generally powered either by engines or by the pilot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Micro air vehicle</span> Class of very small unmanned aerial vehicle

A micro air vehicle (MAV), or micro aerial vehicle, is a class of man-portable miniature UAVs whose size enables them to be used in low-altitude, close-in support operations. Modern MAVs can be as small as 5 centimeters - compare Nano Air Vehicle. Development is driven by commercial, research, government, and military organizations; with insect-sized aircraft reportedly expected in the future. The small craft allow remote observation of hazardous environments or of areas inaccessible to ground vehicles. Hobbyists have designed MAVs for applications such as aerial robotics contests and aerial photography. MAVs can offer autonomous modes of flight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dario Floreano</span> Swiss-Italian roboticist and engineer

Dario Floreano is a Swiss-Italian roboticist and engineer. He is Director of the Laboratory of Intelligent System (LIS) at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland and was the founding director of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Robotics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swarm robotics</span> Coordination of multiple robots as a system

Swarm robotics is an approach to the coordination of multiple robots as a system which consist of large numbers of mostly simple physical robots. In a robot swarm, the collective behavior of the robots results from local interactions between the robots and between the robots and the environment in which they act. It is supposed that a desired collective behavior emerges from the interactions between the robots and interactions of robots with the environment. This idea emerged on the field of artificial swarm intelligence, as well as the studies of insects, ants and other fields in nature, where swarm behaviour occurs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miniature UAV</span> Unmanned aerial vehicle small enough to be man-portable

A miniature UAV, small UAV (SUAV), or drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle small enough to be man-portable. Smallest UAVs are called micro air vehicle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert C. Michelson</span> American academic (born 1951)

Robert C. Michelson is an American engineer and academic who invented the entomopter, a biologically inspired flapping-winged aerial robot, and who established the International Aerial Robotics Competition. Michelson's career began at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. He later became a member of the research faculty at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is the author of three U.S. patents and over 100 journal papers, book chapters and reports. Michelson is the recipient of the 1998 AUVSI Pioneer Award and the 2001 Pirelli Award for the diffusion of scientific culture as well as the first Top Pirelli Prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Entomopter</span>

An Entomopter is an aircraft that flies using the wing-flapping aerodynamics of an insect. The word is derived from entomo + pteron. Entomopters are type of ornithopter, which is the broader term for any device intended to fly by flapping wings.

The reciprocating chemical muscle (RCM) is a mechanism that takes advantage of the superior energy density of chemical reactions. It is a regenerative device that converts chemical energy into motion through a direct noncombustive chemical reaction.

James D. DeLaurier is an inventor and professor emeritus of the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies. He is a leader in design and analysis of lighter than air vehicles and flapping winged aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prioria Robotics Maveric</span> Type of aircraft

The Prioria Robotics Maveric is a discontinued unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) marketed as a high-performance, next-generation platform for small and miniature UAV operations. Maveric's bendable wings allow for the ability to store a fully assembled airframe in a 6-inch (150 mm) tube.

The Parrot AR.Drone is a discontinued remote-controlled flying quadcopter, built by the French company Parrot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SmartBird</span> Type of aircraft

SmartBird is an autonomous ornithopter created by Festo's Bionic Learning Network with an emphasis on better aerodynamics and maneuverability. It is an ornithopter modeled on the herring gull. It has a mass of 450 grams and a wingspan of 1.96 meters. In April 2011 the SmartBird was unveiled at the Hanover Fair.

Paparazzi is an open-source autopilot system oriented toward inexpensive autonomous aircraft. Low cost and availability enable hobbyist use in small remotely piloted aircraft. The project began in 2003, and is being further developed and used at École nationale de l'aviation civile (ENAC), a French civil aeronautics academy. Several vendors are currently producing Paparazzi autopilots and accessories.

The Dragonfly is a failed crowdfunding project that was to build a miniaturized four-winged ornithopter UAV designed by TechJect. The Dragonfly supposedly was designed for: aerial photography, interactive gaming, autonomous patrolling for security and surveillance, etc. The project claimed that the UAV was going to manufactured by TechJect, but all development was canceled after crowdfunding IndieGoGo refused to release money.

The NAL / ADE Pushpak is an unmanned Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) technology demonstrator developed jointly by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of DRDO and National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) of CSIRI. It is one of the airframe designs being pursued for "National Program on Micro Air Vehicles" (NP-MICAV)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RoboBee</span> Tiny robot capable of flight

RoboBee is a tiny robot capable of partially untethered flight, developed by a research robotics team at Harvard University. The culmination of twelve years of research, RoboBee solved two key technical challenges of micro-robotics. Engineers invented a process inspired by pop-up books that allowed them to build on a sub-millimeter scale precisely and efficiently. To achieve flight, they created artificial muscles capable of beating the wings 120 times per second.

Davide Scaramuzza is an Italian professor of robotics at the University of Zurich, specialising on micro air vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insectoid robot</span> Robot featuring some insect-like features

An insectoid robot is a, usually small, robot featuring some insect-like features. These can include the methods of locomotion, methods of navigation, and artificial intelligence based on insect models. Many of the problems faced by miniature robot designers have been solved by insect evolution. Researchers naturally look to insects for inspiration and solutions.

References

  1. ↑ Lentink, D., N. L. Bradshaw, and S. R. Jongerius. "Novel micro aircraft inspired by insect flight." Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology 146.4 (2007): S133-S134.
  2. ↑ Bradshaw, Nancy L., and David Lentink. "Aerodynamic and structural dynamic identification of a flapping wing micro air vehicle." AIAA conference, Hawaii. 2008.
  3. 1 2 3 Lentink, D. "Exploring the biofluiddynamics of swimming and flight." Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen (2008).
  4. 1 2 de Croon, G.C.H.E.; de Clercq, K.M.E.; Ruijsink, R.; Remes, B.; de Wagter, C. (1 June 2009). "Design, aerodynamics, and vision-based control of the DelFly". International Journal of Micro Air Vehicles 1 (2): 71–97. doi:10.1260/175682909789498288.
  5. 1 2 Lentink, David, Stefan R. Jongerius, and Nancy L. Bradshaw. "The scalable design of flapping micro-air vehicles inspired by insect flight." Flying insects and robots. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2010. 185-205.
  6. 1 2 ^ de Croon, G.C.H.E.; de Weerdt, E.; De Wagter, C.; Remes, B.D.W.; Ruijsink, R. (April 2012). "appearance variation cue for obstacle avoidance". Robotics, IEEE Transactions on 28 (2): 529–534. doi:10.1109/TRO.2011.2170754.
  7. ↑ de Croon, G.C.H.E., Percin, M., Remes, B.D.W., Ruijsink, R., De Wagter, C., "The DelFly: Design, Aerodynamics, and Artificial Intelligence of a Flapping Wing Robot", Springer, (2015).
  8. ↑ "DelFly".
  9. ↑ "Smallest camera plane".
  10. ↑ "TU Delft: Publications". Archived from the original on 2013-12-14. Retrieved 2013-12-11.
  11. ↑ De Wagter, C., Tijmons, S., Remes, B.D.W., .de Croon, G.C.H.E., "Autonomous Flight of a 20-gram Flapping Wing MAV with a 4-gram Onboard Stereo Vision System", at the 2014 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2014).
  12. ↑ Matěj Karásek, Florian T. Muijres, Christophe De Wagter, Bart D.W. Remes, Guido C.H.E. de Croon: A tailless aerial robotic flapper reveals that flies use torque coupling in rapid banked turns. Science, Vol 361, Iss 6407, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Flapper Drones".
  14. ↑ De Wagter, Christophe, and J. A. Mulder. "Towards vision-based uav situation awareness." AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference and Exhibit. 2005.
  15. ↑ "Delfly Micro IEEE Article"
  16. ↑ "Home". imavs.org.
  17. ↑ Lentink, David, and Michael H. Dickinson. "Biofluiddynamic scaling of flapping, spinning and translating fins and wings." Journal of Experimental Biology 212.16 (2009): 2691-2704.
  18. ↑ Lentink, David, and Michael H. Dickinson. "Rotational accelerations stabilize leading edge vortices on revolving fly wings." Journal of Experimental Biology 212.16 (2009): 2705-2719.
  19. ↑ Dickinson, Michael H., Fritz-Olaf Lehmann, and Sanjay P. Sane. "Wing rotation and the aerodynamic basis of insect flight." Science 284.5422 (1999): 1954-1960.
  20. ↑ Lentink, David. "Biomimetics: Flying like a fly." Nature (2013).
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.