A New Sensation: Digital Strain Sensing for Disturbance Detection In Flapping Wing Micro Aerial Vehicles

Flapping wing micro aerial vehicles face challenges in sensing and reacting to disturbances like wind gusts. This work introduces a new microscale bio-inspired digital strain sensor to detect these perturbations. The sensor is designed to change logic states when a specified strain threshold has been reached. The sensors are 3D printed on a flexible Mylar wing using two-photon polymerization. Three digital sensors with varying strain thresholds demonstrate differences in activation timing due to different design parameters. The sensors are tested at the 25 Hz flapping frequency of a hawkmoth, an insect with comparable wing size. A perturbation was added to the flapping wing by subjecting it to a 3 m/s wind gust. A single digital sensor is able to identify the wind disturbance by comparing the time of the first strain threshold crossing. A separate approach looks at the change in sensor ‘on’-time for each flap cycle and provides a clear indication of the wind disturbance.