Development of a flapping robot that can fly with two wings

Abstract

Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world, and robots with a variety of mobility methods are used in disaster situations. However, the environment in which robots operate at disaster sites differs from that of everyday life in that there are many obstacles and the space in which they can move is narrow and limited. In addition, the footholds are unstable, and there are only a limited number of mobility methods that can respond to the situation. For this reason, small flying robots are considered to be effective in carrying out missions. Therefore, we focus on the flight of insects, which are small and agile in nature, and develop a flapping mechanism with two wings. This flapping mechanism is based on the flapping motion during hovering in order to realize the flight of two wings. The effectiveness of this mechanism will be demonstrated by conducting experiments using a prototype.