Patent ID: 8700233
Filing Date: 2014-04-15
Classification: B64C

Abstract:
1. A method for shaping a wing velocity profile for an aircraft having a first wing planform and a second wing planform that perform an upstroke and a downstroke over a complete wingbeat cycle, comprising: generating time-varying upstroke and downstroke biased wing position commands for each of the first and second wing planforms to produce nonharmonic wing flapping trajectories that generate non-zero, cycle averaged wing drag and alter the cycle-averaged center of pressure of each of the first and second wing planforms relative to a center of gravity of the aircraft, wherein the drag can be controlled to cause horizontal translation forces and rolling moments for the aircraft and movement of the cycle-averaged center of pressure of each of the first and second wing planforms can be controlled to generate pitching moments; and, wherein the wing position commands comprise velocities and positions with temporally symmetric and asymmetric components for the first and second wing planforms so that the first and second wing planforms produce independently-controlled, cycle averaged forces in the vertical and horizontal directions that produce controlled six-degrees-of-freedom for the aircraft.