On the Design of Efficient Micro Air Vehicles

Abstract

In the past few years aeronautical engineers have recognized the possibility of building very small air vehicles, so-called Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs), in response to specific military and commercial needs. Remotely controlled or autonomous MAVs are difficult to detect because of their small size and low noise emission or, if detected, they may be mistaken for small birds or insects. Yet video cameras and other sensors have become so miniaturized in recent years that it is possible to mount them on MAVs for the purpose of transmitting information which may be difficult to obtain in other ways. In this paper the authors first explain various aspects of the physics of thrust generation due to wing flapping and then review the major computational and experimental results which they achieved during the past few years. They conclude with a description of their MAV which is currently under development.