Design and Analysis of Flying Insect Robot

This project is meant to design and analyze a bio-inspired flying butterfly robot. The butterfly robot designed in this project is based on aerodynamics, especially for designing a flapping mechanism due to its complexity. The flapping mechanism was designed by using two separate servo motors because of its flexibility and performance. This mechanism enables the robot’s motion without an extra actuator. A butterfly wing structure was designed by considering aerodynamic forces based on assumptions. Aerodynamic equations were used to obtain lift and drag forces that acted on small wing section. Carbon fibre rods were used as an internal support structure for wing frames, as it achieved the wing’s rigidity and was considered as a thin aerofoil. Finite Element Method is used to carry out the analysis. Static Structural Analysis is carried out, to find out stresses on the wings. Modal Analysis is also performed to find out natural frequencies.