A scientist of Indian origin has developed a new mechanism which would be able to power a micro air vehicle that would not be affected by light gusts of wind.
London, March 26 : A scientist of Indian origin has developed a new mechanism which would be able to power a micro air vehicle that would not be affected by light gusts of wind.
According to a report in New Scientist, Sunil Agrawal, director of the Mechanical Systems Laboratoryat the University of Delaware, made this novel mechanism.
The problem that most micro air vehicles face is that they are easily buffeted in by light gusts of wind.
Nature's answer to this problem is to give small birds wings that can be flapped in bursts to avoid sudden gusts.
But human engineers have found it hard to build a flapping mechanism that is both light and efficient enough to get a small vehicle off the ground while also carrying a suite of useful instruments, such as a camera and a radio transmitter.
One problem is that flapping is not a simple up and down movement, but a complex series of motions that include rotating the wing to "feather" it in the upward part of a stroke.
Now, Sunil Agrawal and his colleagues from the University of Delaware, have build a flapping mechanism for micro air vehicles that solves this problem.
Agrawal has solved this problem using a novel mechanism powered by a single actuator.
As well as powering an ornithopter, the g mechanism could be used to create a flapping air current, or to propel an underwater vehicle.
The mechanism can be used in a micro air vehicle with a wing span of less than 15 centimeters.
ANI