Liftoff of an Electromagnetically Driven Insect-Inspired Flapping-Wing Robot

TLDR

The paper introduces the first electromagnetically driven, self‑lifting, sub‑100‑mg insect‑inspired flapping‑wing micro‑aerial vehicle. The robot weighs 80 mg, has a 3.5 cm wingspan, flaps at up to 80 Hz with ±70° amplitude, and uses an electromagnetic actuator to control flapping and induce passive wing rotation, generating sufficient thrust for lift‑off. It is the world’s smallest electromagnetically driven flapping‑wing robot capable of liftoff.

Abstract

We present the first electromagnetically driven, self-lifting, sub-100-mg, insect-inspired flapping-wing microaerial vehicle. This robot, with a weight of 80 mg and a wingspan of 3.5 cm, can produce sufficient thrust to lift off. The wing beat frequency is up to 80 Hz and the flapping amplitude is approximately ±70°. An electromagnetic actuator is employed to control the flapping amplitude and create passive wing rotation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the world's smallest electromagnetically driven flapping-wing robot that is capable of liftoff.