Flight data from: Acrobatics at the insect-scale: A durable, precise, and agile micro-aerial-robot

Aerial insects are exceptionally agile and precise owing to their small
size and fast neuromotor control. They perform impressive acrobatic
maneuvers when they evade predators, recover from wind gust, or land on
moving objects. Flapping-wing propulsion is advantageous for achieving
flight agility because it can generate large changes of instantaneous
forces and torques. During flapping-wing flight, the wings, hinges, and
tendons of pterygote insects endure large deformation and high stress
hundreds of times each second, highlighting the outstanding flexibility
and fatigue resistance of biological structures and materials. In
comparison, engineered materials and microscale structures in sub-gram
micro-aerial-vehicles (MAVs) exhibit substantially shorter lifespan.
Consequently, most sub-gram MAVs are limited to hovering for less than 10
seconds or following simple trajectories at slow speeds. Here, we
developed a 750-milligram flapping-wing MAV that demonstrated
unprecedented lifespan, speed, accuracy, and agility. Owing to
transmission and hinge designs that reduce off-axis torsional stress and
deformation, the robot achieved a 1000-second hovering flight – two
orders-of-magnitude longer than existing sub-gram MAVs. This robot also
performed some of the most complex flight trajectories with under 1
centimeter root-mean-square (RMS) error and over 30 centimeter-per-second
average speed. With a lift-to-weight ratio of 2.2 and a maximum ascending
speed of 100 centimeter-per-second, this robot demonstrated double body
flips at a rotational rate exceeding that of the fastest aerial insects
and larger MAVs. These results highlight insect-like flight endurance,
precision, and agility in an at-scale MAV, opening opportunities for
future research on sensing and power autonomy.