Entomopter
Encyclopedia
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
developed by Prof. Robert C. Michelson
Robert C. Michelson
Robert C. Michelson is an American engineer and academic widely known for inventing the entomopter, a biologically inspired flapping-winged aerial robot, and for having established the International Aerial Robotics Competition. He has received degrees in electrical engineering from the Virginia...
and his design team from the Georgia Tech Research Institute
Georgia Tech Research Institute
The Georgia Tech Research Institute is the nonprofit applied research arm of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States...
(GTRI), University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
(England), ETS Labs and others. The name 'Entomopter' is derived from entomo (meaning insect: as in entomology
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
) + pteron (meaning wing). Michelson's Entomopter is a type of ornithopter
Ornithopter
An ornithopter is an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings. Designers seek to imitate the flapping-wing flight of birds, bats, and insects. Though machines may differ in form, they are usually built on the same scale as these flying creatures. Manned ornithopters have also been built, and some...
, which is the broader term for any device intended to fly by flapping wings.
Terrestrial Entomopter
The Earth-bound Entomopter has a 15 to 18 cm wing span. A twin set of wings situated fore and aft of the RCM provide balanced resonant flapping to create not only lift and thrust, but full vehicle control. Wing flapping occurs a 35 Hz constant rate. This biologically inspired aerial robot is classified as a micro air vehicleMicro air vehicle
A micro air vehicle , or micro aerial vehicle , is a class of unmanned aerial vehicles that has a size restriction and may be autonomous. Modern craft can be as small as 15 centimetres...
(MAV) because of its size. Mission payloads are in the range of 10 grams with a full gross takeoff weight (GTOW) of 50 grams. Intended use is for covert indoor reconnaissance or operation in confined human-inaccessible spaces.
Power Source
The Entomopter is propelled by a pair of flapping wings driven by a Reciprocating Chemical MuscleReciprocating Chemical Muscle
The Reciprocating Chemical Muscle is a mechanism that takes advantage of the superior energy density of chemical reactions. It is a regenerative device that converts chemical energy into motion through a direct noncombustive chemical reaction.-Function:...
(RCM) which is capable of generating autonomic wing beating from a chemical energy source without an ignition source, combustion
Combustion
Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...
, or atmospheric oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
. Through direct conversion, the RCM also provides small amounts of electricity for onboard systems and further provides differential lift enhancement on the wings through circulation control (Coanda effect
Coanda effect
The Coandă effect is the tendency of a fluid jet to be attracted to a nearby surface. The principle was named after Romanian aerodynamics pioneer Henri Coandă, who was the first to recognize the practical application of the phenomenon in aircraft development....
) to achieve pitch, roll, yaw, and heave to effect steered flight.
In addition, the RCM propulsion system is anaerobic, which would allow it to function without oxidizers, for example, in the carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
Mars atmosphere.
The Entomopter performs obstacle avoidance and altimetry
Altimeter
An altimeter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth underwater.-Pressure altimeter:...
through the use of a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) acoustic transmission created from the waste gas product from fuel decomposition within the RCM. This waste gas is also used for gas bearings
Fluid bearing
Fluid bearings are bearings which support the bearing's loads solely on a thin layer of liquid or gas.They can be broadly classified as fluid dynamic bearings or hydrostatic bearings. Hydrostatic bearings are externally pressurized fluid bearings, where the fluid is usually oil, water or air, and...
(dry lubrication) of all moving parts as well as the circulation controlled "blowing" of the wings for stability control and navigation.
Mars Entomopter
Several NASANASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Research Centers have noted its unique ability to fly on the planet Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. Fixed wing aerial Mars rovers would have to fly at over 250 mph just to stay aloft in the rarefied Mars atmosphere. This makes landing on the rocky surface almost impossible, thereby precluding sample inspection/gathering. Also, the high speed flight means that dwell time on any particular area will be difficult—a negative feature that is compounded by the fact that turns in the thin atmosphere will require enormous radii. An Entomopter, on the other hand, achieves abnormally high lift with rapidly flapping wings (in part due to the "leading edge vortex" phenomenon), and therefore allows the fuselage to move slowly in relation to the ground.
The Reynolds number for flight on Mars is equivalent to that found at over 100,000 feet on Earth. Nothing currently flies with any regularity at this altitude. However, the Reynolds number regime for the tiny Entomopter operating in Earth’s atmosphere is equivalent to a larger version (one-meter wing span) operating in the rarefied Mars atmosphere. In addition, the gravity on Mars is only 37% that of Earth, so an Entomopter-based Mars Flyer would benefit by proportionately reduced weight, even at its increased size on Mars. An Entomopter-based Mars Flyer holds promise of not only flying slowly over the Martian landscape, but also of serving as a multimode vehicle which could land, take samples, recharge, or communicate, and then take off to continue the survey mission. It even has the potential of returning to its launch point for refueling, downloading of data, or transferring of samples. An Entomopter team led by Anthony Colozza of the Ohio Aerospace Institute received NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts
NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts
right|200pxNASA Institute for Advanced Concepts was a NASA-funded program that was operated by the Universities Space Research Association for NASA from 1998 until its closure on 31 August 2007. NIAC sought proposals for revolutionary aeronautics and space concepts that could dramatically impact...
funding to study the configuration of an Entomopter-based Mars surveyor for potential future robotic Mars micromissions.
Funding and international recognition
The Entomopter project received initial internal research and development (IRAD) funding from the Georgia Institute of TechnologyGeorgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
beginning in 1996, and follow-on funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA, the Air Force Research Laboratory
Air Force Research Laboratory
The Air Force Research Laboratory is a scientific research organization operated by the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable aerospace warfighting technologies; planning and executing the Air Force science and...
(AFRL) and the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. For endeavors related to the Entomopter, Prof. Michelson
Robert C. Michelson
Robert C. Michelson is an American engineer and academic widely known for inventing the entomopter, a biologically inspired flapping-winged aerial robot, and for having established the International Aerial Robotics Competition. He has received degrees in electrical engineering from the Virginia...
is the recipient of the 2001 Pirelli Award for the diffusion of scientific culture given by an international Jury for the “best multimedia project coming from any educational institution in the world.” He was also awarded the first ever Top Pirelli Prize (€25,000) for the work deemed best from an international field of over 1000 considered.
Patents
- U.S. Patent No. 6,082,671, July 4, 2000, “Entomopter and Method for Using Same”
- U.S. Patent No. 6,446,909, September 10, 2002, “Reciprocating Chemical Muscle (RCM) and Method for Using Same”
Selected reports and publications
- Michelson, R.C., Novel Approaches to Miniature Flight Platforms, Proceedings of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, Vol. 218 Part G: Journal of Aerospace Engineering, Special Issue Paper 2004, pp. 363–373
- Michelson, R.C., Naqvi, M.A., Beyond Biologically-Inspired Insect Flight, von Karman Institute for Fluid DynamicsVon Karman Institute for Fluid DynamicsThe von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics is a non-profit educational and scientific organization which specializes in three specific fields: aeronautics and aerospace, environment and applied fluid dynamics, turbomachinery and propulsion...
RTO/AVT Lecture Series on Low Reynolds Number Aerodynamics on Aircraft Including Applications in Emerging UAV Technology, Brussels Belgium, 24–28 November 2003 - Colozza, A., Michelson, R.C., et al., Planetary Exploration Using Biomimetics – An Entomopter for Flight on Mars, Phase II Final Report, NASA Institute for Advanced ConceptsNASA Institute for Advanced Conceptsright|200pxNASA Institute for Advanced Concepts was a NASA-funded program that was operated by the Universities Space Research Association for NASA from 1998 until its closure on 31 August 2007. NIAC sought proposals for revolutionary aeronautics and space concepts that could dramatically impact...
Project NAS5-98051, October 2002 - Michelson, R.C., Scaling of Biologically Inspired Aerial Robots, 5th International Workshop on Similarity Methods, Institut für Statik und Dynamik der Luft und Raumfahrtkonstruktionen, Universität Stuttgart, 4–5 November 2002, pp. 71 – 78
- Michelson, R.C., Neurotechnology for Biomimetic Robots, ISBN 0-262-01193-X, The MIT Press, September 2002, pp. 481 – 509, (chapter author).
External links
- Official Entomopter web site - The biologically inspired aerial robot conceived and developed by Prof. Michelson for terrestrial intelligence and planetary surveying applications. (Retrieved 26 August 2008)
- Animation of Entomopter flight on Mars - Movie script by Robert C. MichelsonRobert C. MichelsonRobert C. Michelson is an American engineer and academic widely known for inventing the entomopter, a biologically inspired flapping-winged aerial robot, and for having established the International Aerial Robotics Competition. He has received degrees in electrical engineering from the Virginia...
, animated and rendered by Dan Maas. (Retrieved 26 August 2008) - Online biosketch for Robert C. Michelson - Has many external links to Michelson's related work the Entomopter and with aerial robotics in general. (Retrieved 26 August 2008)