Dynamic Analysis on Formation for the Flight Energy-Saving of a Flapping Wing Robots Flock

The flight of a flapping wing robot has advantages of low noise and flexibility. A flapping wing robot in a formation can achieve more lift through the upwash effect generated by other robots to realize energy saving. In this paper, the wing tip vortex model is established and the flight formation of the flapping wing robots is analyzed in the simulation. The flapping frequency, transverse distance, vertical distance, and the phase difference are simulated to study the influence on the lift and drag of a trailing robot, which helps to estimate the consumption of the energy. According to the simulation, the overall energy consumption can be reduced under the flight formation which takes aerodynamic forces into account.