{"id":{"repo_id":"cape-town","oai_identifier":"oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/40804"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cape-town/oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/40804","repository":{"repo_id":"cape-town","name":"University of Cape Town","base_url":"https://open.uct.ac.za/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"AeroDima: a cheetah-inspired aerodynamic tail for rapid manoeuvrability","abstract":"The cheetah, the fastest land animal has been hypothesised to use its tail for manoeuvrability and has been the source for many bio-inspired robotic tails. However, the use of a lightweight tail to achieve the same effects has not be studied. This paper goes into the study of using a lightweight, aerodynamic tail to increase manoeuvrability on a wheeled platform, AeroDima. This is achieved by studying the aerodynamics of a cheetah's tail in a wind tunnel to develop a quasi-steady state model. A bio-inspired aerodynamic tail was then designed to maximise drag forces. This bio-inspired tail was also studied in a wind tunnel and compared to the cheetah tail's model. The tail required a platform to operate on, so AeroDima was designed and manufactured. The tail, designed to be a 3DOF underactuated system, was designed to test the effects of the tail on high-speed manoeuvres through a roll motion swing of the tail. The system was tested both in simulation and physical experiments. The simulation, developed with MATLAB's Simscape Multibody toolbox, was designed to be a comprehensive model of AeroDima.","abstract_html":"The cheetah, the fastest land animal has been hypothesised to use its tail for manoeuvrability and has been the source for many bio-inspired robotic tails. However, the use of a lightweight tail to achieve the same effects has not be studied. This paper goes into the study of using a lightweight, aerodynamic tail to increase manoeuvrability on a wheeled platform, AeroDima. This is achieved by studying the aerodynamics of a cheetah's tail in a wind tunnel to develop a quasi-steady state model. A bio-inspired aerodynamic tail was then designed to maximise drag forces. This bio-inspired tail was also studied in a wind tunnel and compared to the cheetah tail's model. The tail required a platform to operate on, so AeroDima was designed and manufactured. The tail, designed to be a 3DOF underactuated system, was designed to test the effects of the tail on high-speed manoeuvres through a roll motion swing of the tail. The system was tested both in simulation and physical experiments. The simulation, developed with MATLAB's Simscape Multibody toolbox, was designed to be a comprehensive model of AeroDima.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Bright, Daryn"],"institution":"Department of Electrical Engineering","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Patel, Amir"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024","date_published":"2024","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:23:16Z","subjects":["Engineering"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40804","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Patel, Amir"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Bright, Daryn"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-01-15T11:20:19Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-01-15T11:20:19Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2024"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Department of Electrical Engineering"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Cape Town"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis / Dissertation"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Masters","MSc"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Engineering"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40804"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The cheetah, the fastest land animal has been hypothesised to use its tail for manoeuvrability and has been the source for many bio-inspired robotic tails. However, the use of a lightweight tail to achieve the same effects has not be studied. This paper goes into the study of using a lightweight, aerodynamic tail to increase manoeuvrability on a wheeled platform, AeroDima. This is achieved by studying the aerodynamics of a cheetah's tail in a wind tunnel to develop a quasi-steady state model. A bio-inspired aerodynamic tail was then designed to maximise drag forces. This bio-inspired tail was also studied in a wind tunnel and compared to the cheetah tail's model. The tail required a platform to operate on, so AeroDima was designed and manufactured. The tail, designed to be a 3DOF underactuated system, was designed to test the effects of the tail on high-speed manoeuvres through a roll motion swing of the tail. The system was tested both in simulation and physical experiments. The simulation, developed with MATLAB's Simscape Multibody toolbox, was designed to be a comprehensive model of AeroDima."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["AeroDima: a cheetah-inspired aerodynamic tail for rapid manoeuvrability"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Patel, Amir"],"dc:creator":["Bright, Daryn"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-01-15T11:20:19Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-01-15T11:20:19Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2024"],"dc:description.abstract":["The cheetah, the fastest land animal has been hypothesised to use its tail for manoeuvrability and has been the source for many bio-inspired robotic tails. However, the use of a lightweight tail to achieve the same effects has not be studied. This paper goes into the study of using a lightweight, aerodynamic tail to increase manoeuvrability on a wheeled platform, AeroDima. This is achieved by studying the aerodynamics of a cheetah's tail in a wind tunnel to develop a quasi-steady state model. A bio-inspired aerodynamic tail was then designed to maximise drag forces. This bio-inspired tail was also studied in a wind tunnel and compared to the cheetah tail's model. The tail required a platform to operate on, so AeroDima was designed and manufactured. The tail, designed to be a 3DOF underactuated system, was designed to test the effects of the tail on high-speed manoeuvres through a roll motion swing of the tail. The system was tested both in simulation and physical experiments. The simulation, developed with MATLAB's Simscape Multibody toolbox, was designed to be a comprehensive model of AeroDima."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40804"],"dc:publisher.department":["Department of Electrical Engineering"],"dc:publisher.institution":["University of Cape Town"],"dc:subject":["Engineering"],"dc:title":["AeroDima: a cheetah-inspired aerodynamic tail for rapid manoeuvrability"],"dc:type":["Thesis / Dissertation"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["Masters","MSc"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:23:16Z"}