First Prototype of Polymer Micromachined Flapping Wing Nano Air Vehicle

The novelty of this study includes the development of an insect-inspired flapping wing nano air vehicle (FWNAV) using polymer micromachining or MEMS flyer and its computational flight performance using a fluid-structure interaction (FSI) analysis. The present FWNAV consists of a micro transmission with a support frame, a micro wing, and a piezoelectric bimorph actuator. This FWNAV can be easily fabricated using polymer micromachining and its flight performance can be accurately predicted using the FSI analysis. Hence, this study will lead toward the development of tethered and flyable FWNAVs with the size of the smallest flying natural insects.