Journal
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
Volume 13, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
NATURE PORTFOLIO
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35356-5
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Funding
- European Project GRIFFIN ERC Advanced Grant 2017 [788247]
- European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skodowska-Curie grant [101029670]
- Marie Curie Actions (MSCA) [101029670] Funding Source: Marie Curie Actions (MSCA)
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This paper presents a method to autonomously land a flapping-wing robot on a branch. By utilizing a flight controller, an optical correction system, and a claw attachment, the robot successfully perches on a branch, paving the way for the application of flapping-wing robots in various fields.
Flapping wings produce lift and thrust in bio-inspired aerial robots, leading to quiet, safe and efficient flight. However, to extend their application scope, these robots must perch and land, a feat widely demonstrated by birds. Despite recent progress, flapping-wing vehicles, or ornithopters, are to this day unable to stop their flight. In this paper, we present a process to autonomously land an ornithopter on a branch. This method describes the joint operation of a pitch-yaw-altitude flapping flight controller, an optical close-range correction system and a bistable claw appendage design that can grasp a branch within 25 milliseconds and re-open. We validate this method with a 700g robot and demonstrate the first autonomous perching flight of a flapping-wing robot on a branch, a result replicated with a second robot. This work paves the way towards the application of flapping-wing robots for long-range missions, bird observation, manipulation, and outdoor flight.
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