Design and test of a bat robot

Abstract

This thesis presents a new structure to improve the performance of a biologically inspired bat robot called Bat Bot (B2). In the previous work, a bat robot with five degrees of actuation was designed. This structure significantly simplified the morphology of a biological bat, which has over 40 degrees of freedom (DOFs), while still covering the most important DOFs for bat flight. In the present work, a new parallel structure is introduced to B2’s wing to enable the distal part of the wings to bend downward and fold at the same time during the upstroke. Since this additional DOF is passive, no other actuator is required. The new generation of B2 has following DOFs: (1) synchronized wing flapping, (2) asynchronous folding and bending coupled by the new parallel structure, and (3) asynchronous dorsoventral movement of the hindlimbs.