A laser-microfabricated electrohydrodynamic thruster forcentimeter-scale aerial robots

To date, insect scale robots capable of controlled flight have used flapping wings for generating lift, but this requires a complex and failure-prone mechanism. A simpler alternative is electrohydrodynamic (EHD) thrust, which requires no moving mechanical parts. In EHD, corona discharge generates a flow of ions in an electric field between two electrodes; the high-velocity ions transfer their kinetic energy to neutral air molecules through collisions, accelerating the gas and creating thrust. We introduce a fabrication process for EHD thruster based on 355 nm laser micromachining and our approach allows for greater flexibility in materials selection. Our four-thruster device measures 1.8 * 2.5 cm and is composed of steel emitters and a lightweight carbon fiber mesh. The current and thrust characteristics of each individual thruster of the quad thruster is determined and agrees with Townsend relation. The mass of the quad thruster is 37 mg and the measured thrust is greater than its weig...

迄今为止，具备可控飞行能力的昆虫级机器人均采用扑翼产生升力，但这需要复杂且易失效的机构。一种更简洁的替代方案是电流体动力学（electrohydrodynamic, EHD）推力，其无需任何运动机械部件。在EHD中，电晕放电在两个电极间的电场中产生离子流；高速离子通过碰撞将动能传递给中性空气分子，使气体加速并产生推力。我们提出一种基于355 nm激光微加工的EHD推进器制备工艺，该方法在材料选择上具有更高的灵活性。我们的四推进器装置尺寸为1.8×2.5 cm，由钢制发射极和轻质碳纤维网构成。四推进器中每个独立推进器的电流与推力特性已被测定，且与汤森德关系（Townsend relation）一致。四推进器的质量为37 mg，测得的推力大于其重...