Biomimetics and Flapping Flight

Various forms of flight technology have made impressive advances. Hot air balloons are not sufficiently controlled, but fixed- and swing-wing can be quite impressive in their maneuverability. Fixed rotors on helicopters and drones can have precise control. However, the assorted aircraft with jet engines or propellers are actually less efficient than flapping flight. This is where biomimetics comes into play.

Readers of this site recognize that word (biomimicry is also used), describing how people look to nature and try to imitate them for our use. Ironically, flapping flight was too difficult to grasp. You may have seen videos of primitive attempts at human flight that imitated flapping, but the intricacies were not appreciated until much more recently with the advent of precision photography.

Credit: Freeimages / evfab4

Some people just want greater challenges. This is the case in making insect-sized flapping drones. Many factors come into play, including durability, efficiency, power sources, and more. Educated people using their skills and equipment are doing these designs. It is both amazing and foolish that they are looking to evolution and natural selection to inspire their intelligently-designed robots! Instead, they should consider our Creator's work and give him the credit for things designs they are pilfering.

The rising domestic popularity of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, colloquially ‘drones’) has been made possible by the technical advances made in their performance, reliability, and affordability. The most common form is a quadcopter (four-rotor helicopter), piloted remotely by the likes of wedding photographers, video-makers, and recreational hobbyists.

However, there is room for improvement yet. Many are eagerly monitoring scientific progress towards making flapping-wing robots, inspired by winged creatures’ amazing manoeuvrability and energy efficiency. Insects, bats, and birds fly with ease through caves, car parking basements, and dense forest canopies. And flapping wings are generally more malleable and move with lower tip speeds than drone rotors do, therefore would inflict less damage in the event of a UAV making unintended contact with people or property.

To finish reading, see "Flapping flight challenge". Also worth consideration is "Butterfly Wing Design Repudiates Evolution".