System Identification of the Delfly Nimble: Modeling of the Lateral Body Dynamics

Flapping wing micro air vehicles (FWMAV's) are a subcategory of unmanned aerial vehicle which use flapping wings for thrust generation. The high agility and maneuverability of FWMAV's are very favorable attributes, making them more applicable in cluttered spaces. A tailless FWMAV called the Delfly Nimble has been developed at the Delft...

Intelligent Flapping Wing Control: Reinforcement Learning for the DelFly

Flight control of the DelFly is challenging, because of its complex dynamics and variability due to manufacturing inconsistencies. Machine Learning algorithms can be used to tackle these challenges. A Policy Gradient algorithm is used to tune the gains of a Proportional-Integral controller using Reinforcement Learning. Furthermore, a novel...

Studying the effect of the tail on the dynamics of a flapping-wing MAV

The effects of horizontal tail geometry and position on longitudinal flapping-wing micro aerial vehicle dynamics were studied using wind tunnel and free-flight experiments. Linearised models were used to analyse the effect on the dynamic properties of the ornithopter. Results show higher steady-state velocity and increased pitch damping for...