OPEN ACCESS
Bioinspiration and biomimetic have led to a variety of robotic designs, especially small autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles for urban environment that have taken cues from birds, bats, and insects. The ease with which these fl ying animals negotiate confi ned obstacle-cluttered airspace has long inspired engineers for designing small robots for surveillance and reconnaissance missions. However, one group of extinct fl ying animals, which fl ew over the heads of dinosaurs and dominated the Mesozoic skies for 160 million years, have been largely overlooked for designing small aircrafts, partly because they are extinct and their fossils are diffi cult to study because of preservational deformation. Recently, exquisite pterosaur fossils have been discovered, which provide critical insights into their dynamics. Tapejara wellnhoferi, a pterodactyloid from the Early Cretaceous (~110 million years ago) of Brazil, provides a platform that is particularly valuable for biomimicry of a robotic vehicle. This pterodactyloid had sophisticated sensor mechanisms for determining its aerodynamics, had a cranial crest that was destabilizing but provided agility, had highly articulated wings that enabled precise shape control, and had the ability to fl y, walk, and sail. An initial design for a robotic vehicle is described, which incorporates some of the characteristics of the Tapejara wellnhoferi.
Aerial turning, autonomous unmanned air vehicle in urban environment, Biomimetics, Early Cretaceous Tapejara, fl ight dynamics, forward placement of vertical tail, multimodal locomotion, pterodactylinspired robot, Pterodrone, vertical takeoff and landing.
[1] RQ-11 Raven Unmanned Aerial vehicle, United States of America, available at www.armytechnology.com/projects/rq11-raven/
[2] Abdulrahim, M., Garcia, H. & Lind, R., Flight characteristics of shaping membrane wing of a MicroAir vehicle. Journal of Aircraft, 42, pp. 131–137, 2005. doi: http://dx.doi.org/
10.2514/1.4782
[3] Bahlman, J.W., Swartz, S.M. & Breuer, K.S., Design and characteristic of a multi-articulated robotic bat wing. Bioinspiration and Biomimetics, 8, 2013. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/17483182/8/1/016009
[4] Lambrecht, B.G.A., Horchler, A.D. & Quinn, R.D., A small insect inspired robot that runs and jumps. Proceedings of the International Conference On Robotics and Automation, ICRA: Barcelona, Spain, pp. 33–48, 2005.
[5] Wellnhofer, P., The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs, Crescent Books: New York, 1991.
[6] Unwin, D.M., Pterosaurs from Deep Time, PI Press: New York, 2006.
[7] Maynard Smith, J., The importance of nervous system in the evolution of an animal fl ight. Evolution, 6, pp. 127–129, 1952. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2405510
[8] Roberts, B., Lind, R. & Chatterjee, S., Flight dynamics of a pterosaur-inspired aircraft utilizing a variable-placement vertical tail. Bioinspiration and Biomimetics, 6, p. 026010, 2011. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-3182/6/2/026010
[9] Chatterjee, S., Roberts, B. & Lind, R., Pterodrone, a pterodactyl-inspired unmanned air vehicle that fl ies, walks, climbs, and sails. WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, 138, pp. 301–316, 2010. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2495/DN100261
[10] Bennett, S.C., Sexual dimorphism of Pteranodon and other pterosaurs with comments on cranial crests. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 12, pp. 422–434, 1992. doi: http://dx.doi.org/
10.1080/02724634.1992.10011472
[11] Lü, J., Unwin, D.M., Deeming, D.C., Jin, X., Liu, Y. & Ji, Q., An egg-adult association, gender, and reproduction in pterosaurs. Science, 331, pp. 321–324, 2011. doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.1126/science.1197323
[12] Campos, D.A. & Kellner, A.W.A., Short note on the fi rst occurrence of Tapejaridae in the Crato member (Aptian), Santana Formation, Araripe Basin, northeastern Brazil. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciencias, 60, pp. 459–469, 1997.
[13] Martill, D.M. & Naish, D., Cranial crest development in the Azhdarchoid pterosaur Tupuxuara, with a review of the genus and tapejarid monopholy. Palaeontology, 49, pp. 925–941, 2006. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4983.2006.00575.x
[14] Eaton, G.F., Osteology of Pteranodon. Memoir of Connecticut Academy of Science, 2, pp. 1–38, 1910.
[15] von Kripp, D., EinLebensbild von Pteranodonlongiceps auf fl ugtechnischerGrindlage. Nova ActaLeopoldina NF, 12, pp. 215–246, 1943.
[16] Frey, E., Tischlinger, H., Buchy, M.C. & Martill, D.M., New specimens of Pterosauria (R eptilia) with soft parts with implications for pterosaurian anatomy and locomotion. Evolution and Paleobiology of Pterosaurs, eds E. Buffetaut & J.M. Mazin, Special Publications: London, Geological Society, 217, pp. 233–266.
[17] Stein, R.S., Dynamic analysis of Pteranodonlongiceps: a reptilian adaptation for fl ight. Journal of Paleontology, 49, pp. 534–548, 1975.
[18] Kellner, A.W.A. & Campos, D.A., The function of the cranial crest and jaws of a unique pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil. Science, 207, pp. 389–392, 2002. doi: http:// dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1073186
[19] Sibley, D.A., The Sibley Guide to Birds, Alfred A. Knopf: New York, 2000.
[20] Chatterjee, S. & Templin, R.J., Posture, locomotion, and paleoecology of pterosaurs. Geological Society of America, Special Paper, 376, pp. 1–64, 2004.
[21] Jantzen, B. & Eisner, T., Hindwings are unnecessary for fl ight but essential for execution of normal evasive fl ight in Lepidoptera. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 105, pp. 16636–16640, 2009. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0807223105
[22] Witmer, L.A., Chatterjee, S., Franzosa, J. & Rowe, T., Neuroanatomy of fl ying reptiles:
implications for fl ight, head posture, and behavior of pterosaurs. Nature, 425, pp. 950–953, 2003. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature02048
[23] Dudley, R., The Biomechanics of Insect Flight, Princeton University Press: Princeton, New Jersey, 2000.
[24] Brown, R.E. & Fedde, M.R., Airfl ow sensors in the avian wing. Journal of Experimental Biology, 179, pp. 13–30, 1993.
[25] Alexander, D.E. Nature’s Flyer, Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore, 2002.
[26] Sterbing-D’Angelo, S., Chadha, M., Chiu, C., Falk, B., Xian, W., Barcelo, J. & Zook, J.M., Bat wing sensors support fl ight control. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108,
pp. 11291–11296, 2011. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1018740108
[27] Goulding, M., Circuits controlling vertebrate locomotion: moving in a new direction. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10, pp. 507–518, 2009. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nrn2608
[28] Pondvai, E. & Hone, D.W.E., New models for the wing extension in pterosaur. Historical Biology, 20, pp. 237–254, 2008. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08912960902859334
[29] Palmer, C. & Dyke, G.J., Biomechanics of the unique pterosaur pteroid. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 279, pp. 1218–1224, 2009. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2011.1529
[30] Chatterjee, S. & Templin, R.J., The fl ight dynamics of Tapejara, a pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil with a large cranial crest. Acta Geologica Sinica, 86, pp. 1377–1388, 2012.
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1755-6724.12007
[31] Prandtl, L. & Tietjans, O.G., Applied Hydro- and Aerodynamics, McGraw-Hill: New York, 1934.
[32] Stepniewski, W.Z. & Keys, C.M., Rotary-Wing Aerodynamics, Dover Publications: New York and Minneola, 1984.
[33] Templin, R.J., The spectrum of animal fl ight: insects to pterosaurs. Progress in Aerospace Sciences, 36, pp. 393–436, 2000. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0376-0421(00)00007-5
[34] Tucker, V., Energetic cost of locomotion of animals. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, 34, pp. 841–846, 1970. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0010-406X(70)91006-6
[35] Pennycuick, C.J., Thermal soaring compared in three dissimilar tropical bird species, Fregata magnifi cens, Pelecanus occidentalis and Coragyps atratus. Journal of Experimental Biology, 102, pp. 307–325, 1983.
[36] Woodcock, A.H., Convection and soaring over the open sea. Journal of Marine Research, 3, pp. 248–253, 1940.
[37] Weimerskirch, H., Chastel, O., Barbraud, C. & Tostain, O., Frigatebirds ride high on thermals. Nature, 21, pp. 333–334, 2003. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/421333a
[38] Masey, J.G. (ed.), Santana Fossils: An Illustrated Atlas, T. F. H. Publications: New Jersey, 1991.
[39] Scotese, C.R., The Cretaceous: PaleoAtlas for ArcGIS in PALEOMAP Project. University of Texas, Arlington, 2009.
[40] Chatterjee, S., Alexander, D.E., Lind, R., & Gedeon, A., The sailing performance of the crestedpterodactyloid Tapejara from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil. GSA Abstracts with Programs, 41(7), p. 685, 2009.
[41] Chatterjee, S., Lind, R., Gedeon, A. & Roberts, B., Pterodactyl-inspired unmanned aerial vehicle with multimodal locomotion. GSA Abstracts with Programs, 40(6), p. 394, 2008.
[42] Drela, M. & Youngren, H., AVL-aerodynamic analysis, trim calculation, dynamic stability analysis, aircraft confi guration development. Athena Vortex Lattice, 3.26, 2000 (available at http://raphael.mit.edu.avl/)
[43] Grant, D.T., Abdulrahim, M. & Lind, R., Flight dynamics of a morphing aircraft utilizing independent multiple-joint wing sweep. International Journal of Micro Air Vehicles, 2(2), p. 91–106, 2010. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1260/1756-8293.2.2.91
[44] Sato, A. & Buehler, M., A planar hopping robot with one actuator: design, simulation and experimental results. Proceedings of 2004 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent robots and Systems, 2004, pp. 3540–3545, 2004.
[45] Alexander, R.M., Exploring Biomechanics: Animals in Motion, W. H. Freeman: New York, 1992.
[46] Todd, D.J., Walking Robots: An Introduction to Legged Robots, Kogan Page Ltd.: London, 1985.
[47] Marchaj, C.A., Aero-Hydrodynamics of Sailing, Dodd, Mead & Co.: New York, 1979.