New Flapping-Wing Micro-Flying Robot Inspired by Rhinoceros Beetle Wings
TapTechNews August 5th news, researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne and Konkuk University in South Korea published a paper in the journal Nature stating that they have successfully developed a new type of flapping-wing micro-flying robot by studying the wing deployment and retraction mechanism of the rhinoceros beetle. The robot can passively deploy and retract its wings without the need for a large number of actuators.
According to TapTechNews' understanding, for a long time, scientists have always believed that insects, including beetles, actively deploy and retract their wings through chest muscles, just like birds and bats. However, due to technical limitations, it has been impossible to determine which muscles beetles use and how they achieve this process.
The research team found that the wings of the rhinoceros beetle fold up like origami and can be neatly stored under the hard elytra and then passively deploy during flight. Previous studies mostly focused on how to imitate the folding structure of beetle wings, while ignoring the movement at the base of the wings.
Through in-depth observation of the rhinoceros beetle, the researchers unexpectedly discovered that these insects can passively deploy their hind wings for flight through the force generated by the elytra and wing flapping. After landing, they also use the elytra to push the hind wings back to the body, and the whole process does not consume additional muscle energy.
Inspired by this, the research team developed a micro-flying robot weighing only 18 grams. Different from previous flying robots, this robot can passively retract its wings through elastic tendons and passively deploy its wings when flapping to take off and maintain stable flight, and by stopping flapping after landing, the wings can be quickly and passively retracted into the body without the need for additional drive devices.
This new type of micro-robot has broad application prospects. It can enter narrow spaces that humans cannot reach to perform search and rescue tasks; it can also be used as a tool for biologists to study the flight mechanism of insects, and even for espionage activities. In addition, due to the low flapping frequency, this robot is very safe and can be used as an engineering research tool or a children's toy.
The research team said that in the future, they will further improve the flight performance of the robot and endow it with ground movement capabilities such as crawling to make it more like a real insect.