Optimization approach to designing a bioinspired bat robot for flight and sonar integration

Abstract

In addition to remarkable acoustic sensing and navigation abilities, bats are highly agile and capable fliers, achieving flight efficiency that exceeds that of not only the rest of the animal kingdom, but of all robots as well. We seek to design a robot inspired by the biological capabilites of bats to achieve artificial flapping flight integrated with an acoustic sensing ability. Coupled with the kinematic and dynamic data collection array, we define a process for optimizing the design of bat wings for efficient flight. We identify fitness functions such as flap speed and air subtended throughout a wing cycle and then optimize the size and shape of a wing to achieve desired setpoints of the fitness functions. An inverse kinematics design process can then be used to create a single degree of freedom cyclic mechanism that will achieve the desired wing flap and fold functions. By setting fitness function objectives for both engineering design requirements (weight, lift, aerodynamics) and biologically inspired goals (wing flexibility, similarity to bat flight, responsiveness to echolocation). With this we can procedurally design a bat robot based on updating understandings of bat flight and navigation, leading to a streamlined production process when combined with rapid manufacturing.