Public Research Seminar by Sustainable Energy and Environment Thrust, HKUST(GZ) - Bio-inspired Aerial Robotics and Mechanics

Animal flight deceives us with its effortless grace. Wings exhibit a spectrum of motions, from subtle cambering to pronounced twisting and folding. Computationally, I demonstrate that dynamic wing camber disproportionately impacts flight energetics in live bats. By modeling the wing-body as a dynamical system, I found that the cost of transport depends strongly on flight speed and the coupling of twisting and folding. Experimentally, I performed particle image velocimetry and direct force and power measurements on Flapperoo, a multi-degree-of-freedom robotic platform. I discovered that extreme wing folding leads to clapping, generating an air jet that efficiently enhances lift, while wing twisting angles the tips to vectorize the jet’s direction. Additionally, aerial robot wings interact with both each other and the environment. To capture these interactions, we developed a bio-inspired air-data system for real-time flow sensing, starting on a fixed-wing drone. This work advances fundamental mechanics and bio-inspired robotics, aligning with my career goal of co-evolving their understanding and development.