Development of Semi-autonomous Dragonfly based UAV in Free Flight Conditions

The bioinspired quad wing propulsion resembling dragonfly insect-based unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is designed and developed. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or Drones are technological platforms, with various applications starting from photography to agriculture, passenger drones to ambulances, surveillance drones to combat drones, infrastructure asset maintenance, and power lines inspection. These drones can vary from minimal size to those which carry a heavy payload. This bioinspired quad wing UAV capable of hovering and gliding at low Reynolds number is being developed. This UAV consists of four wings subjected to combined heaving and pitching motions for improved efficiency. These wings are controlled individually to enhance energy-efficient and results in maneuverability. These wings beat at the resonance frequency, thereby harnessing the vibrational energy of the wings and reduces the amount of power required to flap the wings. The flapping amplitude and frequency can be controlled individually or combined using a gear drive that enables variable frequency control or variable amplitude control, or both modes. In this study, the aerodynamic characteristics of propulsive forces are measured using a force sensor in free flight conditions and are compared with the conventional quadcopter UAV propeller characteristics. Preliminary experiments on kinematics and prototypes testing during free flight conditions are presented.