Modeling and simulation study of an insect-like flapping-wing micro aerial vehicle

Abstract The goal of this paper is to show some of the most important features of flying insects from a control point of view, describe in details the kinematics of insects during flapping flight, establish the corresponding kinematics equations of flying insects, analyze the force and moment acting on the flying insects, and establish the corresponding aerodynamic equations. Through the kinematics equations and aerodynamic equations of flying insects, the trajectory equations and attitude equations have also been established. A detailed mathematical model of flying insects is presented in this paper, which including 3 d.o.f. of wings kinematics, i.e., flapping, lagging and feathering, and 6 d.o.f. of insects body, i.e., yaw, roll, up–down flight, left–right flight and fore–back flight. All these motions of flying insects are interrelated by the kinematics equations, attitude equations, aerodynamics model and dynamics equations of the insects' centroid. In the findal part of this paper, the mathematical simulation model of flapping-wing insects is set up and the corresponding simulation curve created. Keywords: FLAPPING-WING MICRO AERIAL VEHICLELOW REYNOLDS NUMBERSIMULATION MODELKINEMATICS EQUATIONSAERODYNAMICS MODEL