Electro-Ribbon Muscles for Biomimetic Wing Flapping

Birds and bats flap their wings using muscles attached directly to the wing. Bumblebees and other insects, however, drive wing movement by two pairs of muscles in the thorax, the contraction of which squeezes the whole body and causes the wings to flap. Here, we present a bumblebee-inspired compliant actuation mechanism for future autonomous and aerial robotics. The mechanism is powered by a novel...