Biomimetic FOC Cable Driven Variable Amplitude Flapping Wing Robot

From the inception of human flight, engineers have sought to mimic and replicate flapping-wing flight. Given birds exhibit superior efficiency and advantageous characteristics such as low noise and high maneuverability compared to conventional UAV technologies, advancing flapping-wing aerial vehicle (FWAV) designs is essential. The continued development of FWAV technology aims to refine performance and enhance capabilities, bringing them closer to those of their biological counterparts. This paper aims to show a path forward to variable amplitude flapping wing drive mechanism with a unique cable-driven mechanism mimicking the bird's pectoralis and supracoraoideus muscles. Without variable amplitude flapping (VAF), it is impossible to achieve the flight capabilities of birds across all flying regimes. Variable amplitude flapping is a critical feature that will be necessary for fully articulated and multi-modal FWAVs moving forward. Current focus is on achieving a symmetric flight for “pigeon” class birds. This entails the development of the first-of-its-kind implementation of drive mechanism for FWAVs that employs a Field-Oriented Control (FOC) drive for a Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) motor and a biomimetic cable-driven system to achieve variable amplitude and frequency flapping strokes.