Air Force-funded researchers from several universities are studying the flexible, flapping wings routinely used by bats and insects and mimicking their biological attributes to improve agility, speed and adaptability in micro air vehicle systems (MAVs).

Air Force Office of Scientific Research officials are currently managing two projects on biologically-inspired flight. Both are part of the 2007 Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative, which provides funding for topics that rely on expertise in multiple disciplines. Dr. Kenny Breuer, a fluid mechanics professor from Brown University, and Dr. Wei Shyy, an aerospace engineering professor from the University of Michigan, each lead a Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative project. Though their respective teams, they focus on different biological and engineering aspects of this problem and they share the same overall goal of understanding bat flight and its potential applications to MAVs. If successfully transitioned, this research could lead to small, remote controlled aircraft that can move in complex environments such as forests, interiors of buildings, caves or tunnels.

Birds, bats and insects have some highly varied mechanical properties that researchers have not incorporated in engineering, Dr. Shyy said. "They're not only lighter, but they also have more adaptive structures. These natural flyers have outstanding capabilities to remain airborne through wind gusts, rain and snow." Facing many of the same challenges posed by this complex, biological system, Dr. Breuer is working on a variety of efforts to unlock the mystery. One such effort involves capturing video footage of bats flying in a wind tunnel and measuring the fluid velocities in their wakes. Another involves studying flight properties in different environments and among different species of bats. The results of these experiments and others have allowed Dr. Breuer to construct engineering models that mimic specific features found in bat flight.

(Source: Air Force Link, Molly Lachance — This research has led to the creation of engineering models, such as the one illustrated in this graphic.)