Design, modelling and control of an owl-inspired unmanned vehicle
Rahma Boucetta · 2020
A novel design of an unmanned vehicle inspired of an owl's flight structure is proposed in this paper. Owls are specific birds characterized by silent flight thanks to a comb that ends some of their feathers. Their downy and dense plumage absorbs noises. An owl-inspired robot in a standing posture was proposed and studied lately [15]. In this work, a particular trirotor vehicle inspired of owls in their specific flight is designed. First, a careful observation of the anatomy of owls in their flight drives us to devise a concept based on a drone with three rotors, two motors fixed on the free ends of wings and the third is placed on the head for small deviations. Next, flight phenomenon is explained using kinematics and aerodynamics laws and theories. Control strategies based on classic and intelligent methods are then developed to ensure trajectory tracking and reach desired positions. The last section wraps up the conclusion and provides new perspectives for future works.