This paper presents a feasibility step in the development of an insect-inspired flapping wing nano air vehicle using advanced engineering technologies such as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technologies. To develop an insect-inspired flapping wing nano air vehicle, a one-wing polymer micromachined transmission is proposed in this paper. The novelty of this study includes (1) the use of the geometrically nonlinear bending deformation of a set of two parallel elastic hinges as the basis for the transmission mechanism, which produces a large rotational displacement from a small translational displacement, and (2) a complete 2.5-dimensional structure that can be fabricated using standard microfabrication techniques, including etching, photolithography, deposition, and curing, without any post-assembly. This design is also an improved version of our previous design, a two-wing polymer micromachined transmission. The transmission proposed here has a great advantage over other types of transmission mechanisms, including its low energy loss because no post-assembly is required (reduced friction loss); its low total weight; its capacity to be further miniaturized without difficulty; and its performance, i.e., ability to produce the necessary stroke angle of approximately 30°w ithout resonance assistance.

No abstract

The novelty of this study includes the development of an insect-inspired flapping wing nano air vehicle (FWNAV) using polymer micromachining or MEMS flyer and its computational flight performance using a fluidstructure interaction (FSI) analysis. The present FWNAV consists of a micro transmission with a support frame, a micro wing, and a piezoelectric bimorph actuator. This FWNAV can be easily fabricated using polymer micromachining and its flight performance can be accurately predicted using the FSI analysis. Hence, this study will lead toward the development of tethered and flyable FWNAVs with the size of the smallest flying natural insects.