A mechanical system includes a curved beam and a motor coupled to the curved beam. The curved beam is configured to buckle at two different locations along the positive and negative portions of its load/displacement curve, corresponding to opposite and equal sense bending directions. The motor is configured to impart a flapping motion to the curved beam.

A method for realizing a vertical take-off and landing aircraft that does not use a mechanism dedicated for take-off and landing, which cannot be achieved on the basis of an existing concept of aircraft flight control, by introducing a new concept of a shoulder rotational axis and an arm rotational axis into aircraft flight control and controlling vertical take-off and landing and ordinary flight with the same mechanism. This instruction eliminates a necessity of a tail and ailerons from an airframe of the aircraft, enables reduction of manufacturing, maintenance, and running costs thereof, and makes it possible to avoid problems of maneuverability and cruising distance performance of airframes of vertical take-off and landing aircrafts.

An autonomous catapult-assisted take-off, recycling, and reuse device and method of a flapping-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) are provided. The device includes a base, an attitude adjusting mechanism, a catapult mechanism, a recycling mechanism, a control processing unit, a power supply module, and a sensor unit, where the attitude adjusting mechanism includes a connector, a counterweight, an adjusting motor, an attitude adjusting input gear, an attitude adjusting output gear, an attitude adjusting output gear shaft, and an installation platform; the catapult mechanism includes a catapult motor, a catapult motor frame, a pulley, a pull rope, a winch, a pull rope fixing part, a flapping-wing aircraft fixing part, two slide bars, two compression springs, and a catapult gear set; and the recycling mechanism includes a recycling motor, a recycling mechanical arm, a recycling platform, two sprockets, and a recycling gear set.

A ferromagnetic actuator is disposed between first and second semiconductor devices that include first and second inductors. Each inductor is disposed on top of a multilevel wiring structure. Current flows through the first inductor to generate a first magnetic field that attracts the ferromagnetic actuator towards the first inductor causing the ferromagnetic actuator to transition from a first state to a second state. In the second state, a portion of the ferromagnetic actuator is disposed closer to the first inductor than it is in the first state. Current flows through the second inductor to generate a second magnetic field that attracts the ferromagnetic actuator towards the second inductor causing the ferromagnetic actuator to transition from the first or second state to a third state. In the third state, a portion of the ferromagnetic actuator is disposed closer to the first inductor than it is in the first state.

An ornithopter includes a main wing mounted on a fuselage. The main wing includes a main spar extending outwardly from the fuselage, and a rib extending rearwardly from the main spar. The rib has an S-shaped camber.

An ornithopter includes a main wing mounted on a fuselage, and a control system configured to control a flapping motion of the main wing. The main wing includes an inner spar, an outer spar, and a wrist portion disposed between the inner spar and the outer spar and which varies a bending angle, which is a relative angle between the inner spar and the outer spar, within a predetermined angle range. The control system includes an actuator which performs a raising motion and a lowering motion of the inner spar by moving the inner spar in an upward direction and in a downward direction, an angle sensor which measures the bending angle, and a control unit which controls the actuator to move the inner spar in response to the measured bending angle.

The present application discloses a flying device designed in the shape of a bee. The flying device comprises a body with a head and a pointed tail, two wings attached to either side of the body, and one or more sensors. The one or more sensors may be located on the outer surface of the device. The sensors may include cameras for capturing pictures or videos of the environment. The sensors may also include temperature sensors (thermometers), GPS readers, and/or wind sensors (anemometer). The body of the device comprises one or more transducers and one or more processors. The device is configured to identify a type of flower or plant and to perform pollination.

A water-air amphibious cross-medium bio-robotic flying fish includes a body, pitching pectoral fins, variable-structure pectoral fins, a caudal propulsion module, a sensor module and a controller. The caudal propulsion module is controlled to achieve underwater fish-like body-caudal fin (BCF) propulsion, and the variable-structure pectoral fins is adjusted to achieve air gliding and fast splash-down diving motions of the bio-robotic flying fish. The coordination between the caudal propulsion module and the pitching pectoral fins is controlled to achieve the motion of leaping out of water during water-air cross-medium transition. The ambient environment is detected by the sensor module, and the motion mode of the bio-robotic flying fish is controlled by the controller.

An autonomous catapult-assisted take-off, recycling, and reuse device and method of a flapping-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) are provided. The device includes a base, an attitude adjusting mechanism, a catapult mechanism, a recycling mechanism, a control processing unit, a power supply module, and a sensor unit, where the attitude adjusting mechanism includes a connector, a counterweight, an adjusting motor, an attitude adjusting input gear, an attitude adjusting output gear, an attitude adjusting output gear shaft, and an installation platform; the catapult mechanism includes a catapult motor, a catapult motor frame, a pulley, a pull rope, a winch, a pull rope fixing part, a flapping-wing aircraft fixing part, two slide bars, two compression springs, and a catapult gear set; and the recycling mechanism includes a recycling motor, a recycling mechanical arm, a recycling platform, two sprockets, and a recycling gear set.

The present disclosure provides an aircraft (10) for flying in a forward direction (F). The aircraft (10) comprises an aircraft body (20), and a wing comprising a first wing portion (30A) and a second wing portion (30B). The first wing portion (30A) and the second wing portion (30B) extend away from the aircraft body (20). The first wing portion (30A) and the second wing portion (30B) are configured to generate a first lift value during level flight of the aircraft (10) in the forward direction (F) when the first wing portion (30A) and the second wing portion (30B) are in an equilibrium position. Each of the first wing portion (30A) and the second wing portion (30B) is flexibly mounted relative to the aircraft body (20) such that when a lift force generated by the first wing portion (30A) changes from the first lift value to a second lift value, the first wing portion (30A) is deflected substantially vertically away from an equilibrium position. The aircraft (10) is configured to provide a further force to the first wing portion (30A) to substantially prevent further deflection of the first wing portion (30A) away from the equilibrium position.