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.

Methods
The dataset comprises raw data, including position and Euler angles (using the XYZ convention), collected from a motion-capturing system (Vicon Vantage V5 and Vicon Tracker 3.9). The data was retrieved from Vicon Tracker 3.9 and transmitted in real-time to a target computer (Speedgoat) via asynchronous UDP. All data was saved at 10 kHz on the target computer, with no post-processing applied.