Controlled Lift for an Efficient ARtificial insect flight

Abstract

The motive of the OVMI (French for Flying Object Mimicking the Insect) project is to design a robust, autonomous and efficient flapping-wing nano-air-vehicle (FWNAV) relying on MEMS technologies. Key features of our design is its bio-inspiration, its innovative actuation concept including resonance phenomenon and passive torsion as well as its fabrication method. Thus various prototypes can be micromachined and tested with typically a wingspan of 3cm and weighting only 20mg. Being a multidisciplinary project and in order to improve our design and carry out an airborne prototype, new scientific methods and technical skills are developed in three main areas: the development of an efficient actuation, an optimization of the motion transmission and finally the comprehension of aeroelastic phenomena on our wings. Each time, the aim is to develop novel concept towards a more efficient, compact, and lighter prototype.