Development of Gyroscopic Thrust Vectoring system in Flapping Wing MAVs without Empennage

Suseendar Marimuthu, V. Shraveen, L. J. Yang, H. K. Chuan, T. Rangaswamy, K. Elangovan

Abstract


Improvement in inherent agility, gust wind resistance of Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicles (FWMAV) and morphological, visual closeness to natural flyers has been historically constrained due to the usage of conventional empennage constituting a control-surface based directional control apparatus. This paper discusses a novel mechanism wherein the directional control is achieved by vectoring the thrust force generated by the flapping wings. This eliminates the presence of the empennage, thus making the FWMAV open to morphological and cosmetic developments, besides contributing to the stability. This mechanism harnesses the advantages of Gimbal-mounting of the propulsion unit, similar to rocket engines, permitting individual and independent regulation of pitch, roll and yaw components. The control schema can be utilized in any FWMAV independent of the form factor and nature of the propulsion mechanism.

Keywords


Flapping wing control, Thrust Vectoring, Gyroscopic control, Biomimetics

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References


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