An ornithopter is a biologically inspired robot that produces lift by flapping its wings. Many hobby-sized ornithopters currently exist, however, large-scale models have been historically unsuccessful. Continuing last year’s MQP, a new testbed was developed to replicate various wing stroke patterns and measure relevant forces. A custom four bar linkage mechanism, capable of generating multiple coupler curves, was created to manually adjust the wing trajectory. The testbed utilizes load cells, an encoder, IMU, and a LabVIEW interface to gather forces and corresponding position data. In future projects, this testbed can be used to test and develop optimal wing design and wing tip pattern for ornithopter innovation.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Schmidtman, Hanna Lynn
• Berdeguer, Carlos Enrique
• Waid-Jones, Austin Charles

Contributors

• Hutson, Fred
• Boisse, Robert
• Hefti, Peter

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• E-project-043015-124435

Advisor

• Onal, Cagdas
• Popovic, Marko B.

Year

• 2015

Date created

• 2015-04-30

Resource type

• Major Qualifying Project

Major

• Mechanical Engineering

Rights statement

• In Copyright