Measurements of angle of attack for a sub-100mg insect-inspired micro aerial vehicle

The research in micro aerial vehicles involves modeling, designing, manufacture and control. It requires determining the angle of attack of the flapping wing for aerodynamic modeling and control methods. In this article, based on a set of a sub-100mg flapping wing mechanism, we build a measurement system. With the system, the wing trajectories under different input conditions are captured through two high-speed cameras. From the videos recorded, the wing kinematic angles are calculated. Then we establish a second-order equation to reveal the connection between the angle of attack and the input voltage. The error of the results is analyzed and it is concluded that the results are reliable.