The majority of robotic vehicles that can be found today are bound to operations within a single media (i.e. land, air or water). This is very rarely the case when considering locomotive capabilities in natural systems. Utility for small robots often reflects the exact same problem domain as small animals, hence providing numerous avenues for biological inspiration. This paper begins to investigate the various modes of locomotion adopted by different genus groups in multiple media as an initial attempt to determine the compromise in ability adopted by the animals when achieving multi-modal locomotion. A review of current biologically inspired multi-modal robots is also presented. The primary aim of this research is to lay the foundation for a generation of vehicles capable of multi-modal locomotion, allowing ambulatory abilities in more than one media, surpassing current capabilities. By identifying and understanding when natural systems use specific locomotion mechanisms, when they opt for disparate mechanisms for each mode of locomotion rather than using a synergized singular mechanism, and how this affects their capability in each medium, similar combinations can be used as inspiration for future multi-modal biologically inspired robotic platforms.

This paper presents results from a coupled thermal and power loss analysis of an open-slot permanent magnet (PM) generator. The research focus has been placed on the winding design providing minimum power loss at ac operation together with low-cost manufacture. The analysed PM generator is intended to operate at fixed-speed allowing for the winding design to be finely tuned for the single operating point. Such a design approach has not been widely reported in the literature, and the existing body of work is focused largely on the variablespeed applications, where the winding design is a compromise between the low-and high-speed operating points, for a given torque speed envelope. The ac winding power loss has been analysed for several winding variants with different conductor dimensions accounting for the winding operating temperature. The calculated results suggest that in the analysed PM generator, lower winding slot fill factor is preferable as compared with the more common approach, where the highest manufacturable winding slot fill factor is usually considered. The power loss predictions have been supplemented with thermal analysis of the complete generator assembly for the winding variants considered illustrating the importance and influence of the appropriate winding design on the power output capability of the fixed-speed PM generator. The most promising winding design for the minimum power loss at the rated operating point has been down selected for prototyping. Theoretical findings from the analysis have been compared against experimental data from hardware tests on a stator winding section showing close agreement. I.

The common guillemot, Uria aalge, a member of the auk family of seabirds, exhibits locomotive capabilities in both aerial and aquatic substrates. Simplistic forms of this ability have yet to be achieved by robotic vehicle designs and offer significant potential as inspiration for future concept designs. In this investigation, we initially investigate the power requirements of the guillemot associated with different modes of locomotion, empirically determining the saving associated with the retraction of the wing during aquatic operations. A numerical model of a morphing wing is then created to allow power requirements to be determined for different wing orientations, taking into account the complex kinematic and inertial dynamics associated with the motion. Validation of the numerical model is achieved by comparisons with the actual behaviour of the guillemot, which is done by considering specific mission tasks, where by the optimal solutions are found utilizing an evolutionary algorithm, which are found to be in close agreement with the biological case.

This paper presents results from a coupled thermal and power loss analysis of an open-slot permanent magnet (PM) generator. The research focus has been placed on the winding design providing minimum power loss at ac operation together with low-cost manufacture. The analysed PM generator is intended to operate at fixed-speed allowing for the winding design to be finely tuned for the single operating point. Such a design approach has not been widely reported in the literature, and the existing body of work is focused largely on the variablespeed applications, where the winding design is a compromise between the low-and high-speed operating points, for a given torque speed envelope. The ac winding power loss has been analysed for several winding variants with different conductor dimensions accounting for the winding operating temperature. The calculated results suggest that in the analysed PM generator, lower winding slot fill factor is preferable as compared with the more common approach, where the highest manufacturable winding slot fill factor is usually considered. The power loss predictions have been supplemented with thermal analysis of the complete generator assembly for the winding variants considered illustrating the importance and influence of the appropriate winding design on the power output capability of the fixed-speed PM generator. The most promising winding design for the minimum power loss at the rated operating point has been down selected for prototyping. Theoretical findings from the analysis have been compared against experimental data from hardware tests on a stator winding section showing close agreement. I.

This paper presents a numerical model of a morphing wing supporting the development of a biologically inspired vehicle capable of aerial and aquatic of locomotion. The model draws inspiration from the seabird Uria aalge, the common guillemot. It is implemented within a parametric study associated with aerial and aquatic performance, specifically aiming at minimizing energy of locomotion. The implications of varying wing geometry and kinematic parameters are investigated and presented in the form of nested performance charts. Trends within both the aquatic and aerial model are discussed highlighting the implications of parameter variation on the power requirements associated with both mediums. Conflicts of geometric parameter selection are contrasted between the aerial and aquatic model, as well as other trends that impact the design of concept vehicles with this capability. The model has been validated by implementing a heuristic optimization of its key parameters under conditions akin to those of the actual bird; optimal parameters output by the model correlate to the actual behaviour of the guillemot.