MOTORS, DRIVES & CONTROLS
FLYING ROBOTS WITH FLAPPING WINGS R
esearchers from the University of Bristol have developed a new drive system for flapping wing
autonomous robots, using a method of electromechanical zipping that does away with the need for conventional motors and gears.
This new advance could pave the way
for smaller, lighter and more effective micro flying robots for environmental monitoring, search and rescue, and deployment in hazardous environments. Until now, typical micro flying
robots have used motors, gears and other complex transmission systems to achieve the up-and-down motion of the wings. This has added complexity, weight and undesired dynamic effects. Taking inspiration from bees and other flying insects, researchers from Bristol’s Faculty of Engineering, led by Professor of Robotics Jonathan Rossiter, have
The LAZA system greatly simplifies
the flapping mechanism, enabling future miniaturisation of flapping robots down to the size of insects. In a recent paper, the team showed
how a pair of LAZA-powered flapping wings can provide more power compared with insect muscle of the same weight, enough to fly a robot across a room at
successfully demonstrated a direct-drive artificial muscle system, called the liquid- amplified zipping actuator (LAZA), that achieves wing motion using no rotating parts or gears.
18 body lengths per second. They also demonstrated how the LAZA can deliver consistent flapping over more than one million cycles, important for making flapping robots that can undertake long- haul flights. The team expect the LAZA to be
adopted as a fundamental building block for a range of autonomous insect-like flying robots. Dr Tim Helps, developer of the LAZA system said: “With the LAZA, we apply electrostatic forces directly on the wing, rather than through a complex, inefficient transmission system. This leads to better performance, simpler design, and will unlock a new class of low-cost, lightweight flapping micro-air vehicles for future applications, such as autonomous inspection of offshore wind turbines.” l
For more information visit
www.bristol.ac.uk
www.engineerlive.com 49
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