Measuring wing kinematics, flight trajectory and body attitude during forward flight and turning maneuvers in dragonflies

A robust technique for determining the wing kinematics, body position and attitude of a free-flight dragonfly is described. The new method is based on a projected comb-fringe technique combined with the natural landmarks on a dragonfly, allowing us to establish the local body-centered coordinate system with high accuracy, and to measure the body attitude at any instant. The kinematic parameters, including wingbeat frequency, flapping angle, angle of attack, torsional angle and camber deformation, required no assumptions to be made with respect to wing geometry, deformability (except the assumption of rigid leading edges) or bilateral wing symmetry. Two typical flight behaviors, forward flight and turning maneuvers, of dragonflies Polycanthagyna metanictera Selys were measured and analyzed.