Design and construction of an autonomous ornithopter

In recent years the subject of flying vehicles propelled by flapping wings, also known as ornithopters, has been an area of interest because of its application to micro aerial vehicles (MAVs). These miniature vehicles seek to mimic small birds and insects to achieve never before seen agility in flight. This renewed interest has raised a host of new problems in vehicle dynamics and control to explore. In order to better study the control of flapping wing flight we have developed a large scale ornithopter called the Phoenix. It is capable of carrying a heavy (400 gram) computer and sensor package and is designed specially for the application of controls research. The design takes special care to optimize payload capacity, crash survivability, and field repair abilities. This thesis covers the design process of both the mechanical and electrical systems of the ornithopter and initial control experiments. We also show that it is possible to stabilize the machine in pitch with a simple PD controller through experimental testing..

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Jackowski, Zachary John

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Russell Louis Tedrake.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/52809

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/52809