An Experimental Study on Response and Control of a Flapping-Wing Aerial Robot Under Wind Gusts

Bioinspired flapping-wing micro-air-vehicles (FWMAVs) have the potential to be useful aerial tools for gathering information in various environments. With recent advancements in manufacturing technologies and better understanding of aerodynamic mechanisms behind of the flapping flight, outdoor flights have become a reality. However, to fully realize the potential of FWMAVs, further improvements are necessary, particularly in terms of stability and robustness under gusty conditions. In this study, the response and control of a tailless two-winged FWMAV under the wind gusts are investigated. Physical experiments are conducted with a one-degree-of-freedom gimbal to focus on effects of wind gusts on the rotational motion of the FWMAV. Proportional-derivative and sliding-mode controls are adopted for the attitude control. Results present that the body angles changed in time and reached approximately 50 circle\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${}<^>\circ$$\end{document} at the maximum due to the wing gusts. The sliding-mode controller can more effectively control the rotational angle in the presence of disturbances and both the wing speed and changes in wind speed have an impact on the effectiveness of attitude control. These results contribute to the development of of tailless two-winged, single-motor driven FWMAVs in terms of the design of attitude controller and testing apparatus.