Bird-Inspired Spatial Flapping Wing Mechanism via Coupled Linkages with Single Actuator
This work addresses the problem of simplifying complex geometric synthesis for spatial mechanisms in robotics, offering a domain-specific solution for bio-inspired robotic design.
The paper tackled the challenge of designing a lightweight bio-inspired flapping-wing mechanism by developing a bird-inspired system using two coupled spatial four-bars driven by a single motor, resulting in a 3D-printed prototype that demonstrated coordinated sweep-and-fold motion with reduced weight and control complexity.
Spatial single-loop mechanisms such as Bennett linkages offer a unique combination of one-degree-of-freedom actuation and nontrivial spatial trajectories, making them attractive for lightweight bio-inspired robotic design. However, although they appear simple and elegant, the geometric task-based synthesis is rather complicated and often avoided in engineering tasks due to the mathematical complexity involved. This paper presents a bird-inspired flapping-wing mechanism built from two coupled spatial four-bars, driven by a single motor. One linkage is actuated to generate the desired spatial sweeping stroke, while the serially coupled linkage remains unactuated and passively switches between extended and folded wing configurations over the stroke cycle. We introduce a simplified kinematic methodology for constructing Bennett linkages from quadrilaterals that contain a desired surface area and further leverage mechanically induced passive state switching. This architecture realizes a coordinated sweep-and-fold wing motion with a single actuation input, reducing weight and control complexity. A 3D-printed prototype is assembled and tested, demonstrating the intended spatial stroke and passive folding behavior.