Flapping wings provide unmatched maneuverability for flying micro-robots. Recent advances in modelling insect aerodynamics show that adequate wing rotation at the end of the stroke is essential for generating adequate flight forces. W e developed a thorax structure using four bar frames combined with an extensible fan-fold wing to provide adequate wing stroke and rotation. Flow measurements on a scale model of the beating wing show promising aerodynamics. Calculations using a simple resonant mechanical circuit model show that piezoelectric actuators can generate SUBcient power, force and stroke to drive the wings at 150 Hz.

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Abatract-We view fuzzy logic control technology as a high level language in which we can efficiently define and synthesize nonlinear controllers for a given process. We contrast fuzzy Proportional Integral (PI) controllers with conventional PI and two dimensional sliding mode controllers. Then we compare the development of Fuzzy Logic Controllers (FLC) with that of Knowledge Based System (KBS) applications. We decompose the comparison into reasoning tasks (representation, inference, and control) and application tasks (acquisition, development, validation, compilation, and deployment). After reviewing the reasoning tasks, we focus on the compilation of fuzzy rule bases into fast access lookup tables. These tables can be used by a simplified run-time engine to determine the FLC's crisp output for a given input.

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The process of warming a large steam turbine after an extended period of maintenance or inactivity is called "prewarming." Currently, many large steam turbines are prewarmed manually in an otherwise completely automated startup procedure. An approach is outlined for automating the prewarming of large steam turbines using fuzzy logic. In this approach, heuristics employed by a human operator during prewarming are captured in a fuzzy rule base and used by a supervisory controller.