DOI: 10.5061/dryad.0p2ngf28q
title: Flight data from: Acrobatics at the insect-scale: A durable, precise, and agile micro-aerial-robot

description: 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.
description: 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.
description: # Flight data from: Acrobatics at the insect-scale: a durable, precise,
 and agile micro-aerial-robot ## Data format The data is saved in
 Comma-Separated Value (.csv) format. The first column of each .csv file
 represents the time (in seconds) recorded during the flight. The
 subsequent columns are organized in groups of six: the first three columns
 show the x, y, and z positions (in meters), and the next three columns
 contain the Euler angles in the XYZ convention (in radians). The
 corresponding flight numbers are also included in the column names to
 demonstrate repeatability. ## List of flight data The following list shows
 the filenames and the corresponding flights (in terms of figure numbers)
 presented in the manuscript: * "MIT_letter.csv" - Fig. 1 (D) and
 Fig. S7 * "1000s.csv" - Fig. 4  * "infinity_sign.csv"
 - Fig. 5 (A-D) and Fig. S4 * "planar_circle.csv" - Fig. 5 (E-H)
 and Fig. S5 * "rotating_infinity_sign.csv" - Fig. 5 (I-M) and
 Fig. S6 * "single_flip.csv" - Fig 6 (A-F) and Fig. S9 *
 "double_flip.csv" - Fig 6 (G-L) and Fig. S10 ## Data collection
 The data was captured by a motion-capturing system (Vicon Vantage V5 and
 Vicon Tracker 3.9). The data was first retrieved from Vicon Tracker 3.9
 and then 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. ## Post-processing used in the manuscript
 While the data presented in this dataset is raw and without any
 post-processing, the plots shown in the manuscript have been
 post-processed. The following paragraphs explain the reasons and methods
 of post-processing used in the manuscript. * The raw data received on the
 target computer does not update at exactly 400 Hz (Vicon system's
 refresh rate), as a result, a much higher sampling rate (10 kHz) was used
 to collect and save data. Lowpass filtering (e.g. Matlab `filtfilt`) is
 thus applied to smooth the signals presented in the manuscript. * The
 Vicon system only provides position and Euler angle. Velocity and angular
 velocity shown in the manuscript were obtained through numerical
 differentiation of the post-lowpass-filtered data. * The somersault
 maneuvers involve flipping with respect to the body y-axis, and the ZXY
 convention was used to present the flipping angle (Fig. 6 and Fig. S9 and
 S10) in the manuscript (while the data is still saved in the XYZ
 convention). The filtering of the Euler angle was done through the
 following steps: 1) adding 360° to the second stage (and 720° to the third
 stage) of the flip to ensure the Euler angle-y is continuous; 2) applying
 lowpass filter to the Euler angle; and 3) subtracting 360° from the second
 stage (and 720° from the third stage) of the flip. Angular velocity was
 then obtained through numerical differentiation.