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Why are all the robotic insects built with flapping wings, as opposed to propellers or rotors that drones, airplanes, boats, and helicopters are built with? Is
by msravi 11y ago
Why are all the robotic insects built with flapping wings, as opposed to propellers or rotors that drones, airplanes, boats, and helicopters are built with? Is there something inherently different at that scale that requires flapping wings?
- nether 11y agoYes, the tendency to shed vortices is much greater at small scales. A rapid flapping motion is basically a vortex generator and more efficient than a wing (rotating or fixed) which relies more on steady state, laminar flow. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynolds_number https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynolds_number for more explanation.
- mtrpcic 11y agoAdditionally, the energy required (relevant to total mass) to generate lift is a lot smaller at this scale thanks to the Square-cube law[0], and it's a lot more efficient to flap a wing on an as-needed basis than to run a rotor at a continual and steady rotation. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square-cube_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square-cube_law