Design of the First Insect-scale Spinning-wing Robot

TL;DR

This paper introduces the first insect-scale microrobot that uses spinning wings to generate lift, offering an alternative to flapping-wing designs with comparable performance.

Contribution

It presents the design and performance of the first insect-scale spinning-wing robot, demonstrating a novel approach at this size scale.

Findings

Generates over 138 mg of lift at 47 rpm

Consumes approximately 60 mW of power

Achieves a lift-to-power ratio of 2.3 g/W

Abstract

Here we present the design of an insect-scale microrobot that generates lift by spinning its wings. This is in contrast to most other microrobot designs at this size scale which rely on flapping wings to produce lift. The robot has a wing span of 4 centimeters and weighs 133 milligrams. It spins its wings at 47 revolutions/second generating $>$ 138 milligrams of lift while consuming approximately 60 milliwatts of total power and operating at a low voltage ($<$ 3 V). Of the total power consumed 8.8 milliwatts is mechanical power generated, part of which goes towards spinning the wings, and 51 milliwatts is wasted in resistive Joule heating. With a lift-to-power ratio of 2.3 grams/W, its performance is at par with the best reported flapping wing devices at the insect-scale.