Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicle (FWMAV) is an undergraduate and graduate research team that aims explore the advantages of flapping wing flight over rotary wing and fixed wing mechanisms.

In the last century, engineers have deconstructed and reconstructed the principles of flight through decades of observation and experimentation. As far as advancements in flight have come, we are still being put to shame by the overwhelming complexity of flight in nature. Through millions of years of evolution, nature has been able to exploit the unsteady aerodynamics of flapping wing flight to generate thrust and achieve stability.

UC Irvine’s FWMAV Project aims to utilize these flapping wing mechanisms to explore the viability of a flapping-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). To fully utilize flight characteristics observed in nature, whether through insect or bird flight, this UAV must scale down to the scale of micro air vehicle.

The Defense and Research Projects Agency (DARPA) defines a micro air vehicle to be an aerial vehicle with dimensions less than 15 cm along every principle axis.

Dimensions less than 15 cm in length, width, or height.

Fly for more than 1 minute hover time.

At least 2 DOF : Upward and Pitch.

Pitching angle controlled by the mechanism

Through modification of an existing flapping wing mechanism (seen below), the FWMAV project has developed a viable flapping wing mechanism suitable for extended flight. The FWMAV Project’s Mechanism Team is dedicated to improving the efficiency and performance of the flapping wing mechanisms.

The Simulation and Visualization Team aims to mathematically model and simulate the flapping wing mechanisms developed by the Mechanism Team.