Article
Mechanics
Feng Liu Yang, Yan Qing Wang
Summary: This study presents a theoretical model to investigate the influence of thoracic muscles on insect flight. The results suggest that including thoracic muscles decreases lift and power, but improves lift efficiency, with minor effects on the movement trends of the flapping motion.
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Seth Lionetti, Tyson L. Hedrick, Chengyu Li
Summary: This study compares the aerodynamics of hawkmoths during hovering and forward flight. The results show that hawkmoths minimize drag at higher speeds but lose lift production during upstrokes, potentially reducing their maximum sustained flight speeds.
PHYSICAL REVIEW FLUIDS
(2022)
Article
Mathematics
Jing Lu, Hongjun Chai, Ruchun Jia
Summary: This study presents a universal framework for flight maneuver recognition, which can be applied to various flight tasks. By preprocessing, reconstructing, and calculating entropy, it can accurately identify different types of flight maneuvers for multiple aircraft types.
Article
Mechanics
Liansong Peng, Tianyu Pan, Mengzong Zheng, Guanting Su, Qiushi Li
Summary: In this paper, a three-dimensional fluid-structure interaction simulation of flapping of a flexible wing is conducted. The aerodynamic performance of the flexible wing is analyzed by considering its spatial and temporal effects. The study concludes that the flexible wing can enhance both the average lift and aerodynamic efficiency. The spatial effects are mainly influenced by the wing's camber, while the temporal effects are mainly influenced by twist and bend. These findings provide insights into the aerodynamic effects of insect wing deformation and can guide the design of micro aerial vehicles' wings.
Article
Biology
Viet Le, Benjamin Cellini, Rudolf Schilder, Jean -Michel Mongeau
Summary: Animals use body parts like tails to stabilize posture while moving at high speed. In flying insects, leg or abdominal inertia can affect flight posture. By studying the hawkmoth Manduca sexta, we found that torques generated by the wings and abdomen can interact and contribute to flight control. The abdomen torque is overall smaller than wing torque, but can have a significant effect at higher visual stimulus temporal frequency.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jeff Gau, James Lynch, Brett Aiello, Ethan Wold, Nick Gravish, Simon Sponberg
Summary: Insects have undergone repeated evolutionary transitions between synchronous and asynchronous flight modes. This study reveals that asynchrony likely evolved only once at the order level, with many reversions to the ancestral, synchronous mode. The findings suggest that these two flight modes are two regimes of the same dynamics and insects can transition between them with changes in physiological parameters. Additionally, the study integrates these two modes into an insect-scale robot, unlocking a new self-excited wingstroke strategy for engineered flight.
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Jie Yao, K. S. Yeo
Summary: This study analyzed the effects of control delay on the hovering performance of a model insect flyer and determined how control coefficients or gains can be modified to mitigate the adverse effects of latency. The results of the analyses were validated through simulations, showing that noncyclic asymptotic oscillations about the mean equilibrium hovering state are enhanced with larger control delay.
Article
Mechanics
Yujing Xue, Xuefei Cai, Hao Liu
Summary: This study investigates the aerodynamics and energetics of hawk moth flight using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The results show that the interaction between the flapping wings and the flying body affects the aerodynamic performance, with body-vortex-based mechanisms increasing vertical force and reducing energy consumption. These findings have implications for the design of biomimetic flapping micro-aerial vehicles in the future.
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Toshiyuki Nakata
Summary: The aerodynamics of insect flight is a fascinating subject that has garnered interest in both scientific and engineering communities. Insects generate aerodynamic forces for flight through their flapping wings, and this process is influenced by airflow and sounds, which in turn affect their navigation through olfaction and audition. Computational approaches have provided valuable insights into this field, working alongside insect measurements and robotic techniques. This study emphasizes the contribution of computational physics in understanding insect flight and navigation, aiming to engage the physics community, particularly students and young researchers, in the captivating world of diverse insect flights and the future challenges it holds.
JOURNAL OF THE PHYSICAL SOCIETY OF JAPAN
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Lindsay D. Waldrop, Yanyan He, Tyson L. Hedrick, Jonathan A. Rader
INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Zoology
Jonathan A. Rader, Tyson L. Hedrick, Yanyan He, Lindsay D. Waldrop
INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Robotics
Haithem E. Taha, Mohammadali Kiani, Tyson L. Hedrick, Jeremy S. M. Greeter
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Jung-Hee Seo, Tyson L. Hedrick, Rajat Mittal
Summary: The study compared wing-tone and flight efficiency between crepuscular mosquitoes and fruit flies using computational models, revealing that mosquitoes produce more intense wing-tones and are more efficient in converting power into acoustic power. Mosquitoes also exhibit wing-tones tilted in a forward direction, which is conducive for acoustic signaling during mate chase. Additionally, the specific power of mosquitoes is comparable to that of fruit flies, suggesting that adaptations for wing-tone based communication do not compromise flight efficiency.
BIOINSPIRATION & BIOMIMETICS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Mechanical
Yun Liu, Angel David Lozano, Tyson L. Hedrick, Chengyu Li
Summary: This study compares the wake flow structures of hovering insects between experimental visualization and computational simulation, showing a close agreement in flow structure formation and size between the two methods. The IBM-based CFD simulation method is capable of accurately simulating the actual flow phenomena on hovering insects, while high-speed schlieren photography proves effective in capturing the formation of wake flow structures.
JOURNAL OF FLUIDS AND STRUCTURES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Pranav C. Khandelwal, Tyson L. Hedrick
Summary: Gliding animals can change their body shape and posture to produce and control aerodynamic forces during flight. This study focused on the gliding lizards and found that their three-dimensional wing shape, along with strategies of changing body pitch and modifying airfoil camber, enables efficient gliding and adaptive flight control even at high angles of attack. This allows the lizards to maintain optimal aerodynamic performance and adapt to real-world flight conditions.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tyson L. Hedrick, Bradley H. Dickerson
Summary: A new study using neurogenetic methods and a virtual reality flight arena has uncovered a group of descending neurons in Drosophila that fully activate flight motor and steer the fly by independently regulating the left and right wings.
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Seth Lionetti, Tyson L. Hedrick, Chengyu Li
Summary: This study compares the aerodynamics of hawkmoths during hovering and forward flight. The results show that hawkmoths minimize drag at higher speeds but lose lift production during upstrokes, potentially reducing their maximum sustained flight speeds.
PHYSICAL REVIEW FLUIDS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Suyash Agrawal, Bret W. Tobalske, Zafar Anwar, Haoxiang Luo, Tyson L. Hedrick, Bo Cheng
Summary: The study found that hummingbirds use their unique musculoskeletal system and wing motion ability to achieve hover and flight control, and developed a functional model to predict torque and contraction behavior of muscles. Primary muscles act as engines, not only driving wing motion but also actively deviating and pitching the wings, while secondary muscles act against primary muscles through controlled-tightening effects.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Geoffrey Ruaux, Kyra Monmasson, Tyson L. Hedrick, Sophie Lumineau, Emmanuel de Margerie
Summary: Birds, such as the common swift, have evolved energy-saving strategies during flight, including the touch-and-go drinking behavior. However, our study found that the swifts do not increase their speed when approaching a water surface with higher mechanical energy, but instead brake to reduce height and speed. This behavior is possibly a trade-off between energy expenditure and safety, as high speed increases the risk of falling into water.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Anthropology
Ian J. Wallace, Grant J. Riew, Rebecca Landau, Alison M. Bendele, Nicholas B. Holowka, Tyson L. Hedrick, Nicolai Konow, Daniel J. Brooks, Daniel E. Lieberman
Summary: In a study using guinea pigs as an experimental model for osteoarthritis (OA) research, it was found that higher levels of routine physical activity did not lead to greater OA degeneration, but instead resulted in less knee cartilage deterioration, reduced synovial inflammation, smaller osteophytes, and maintenance of greater epiphyseal trabecular bone quantity, challenging the long-standing hypothesis about the relationship between physical activity and OA progression.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2022)
Meeting Abstract
Zoology
P. A. Swiney, T. L. Hedrick, L. R. Gosdin, J. R. Bellah, A. W. Hopkins, V Raghav
INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Meeting Abstract
Zoology
J. A. Rader, L. D. Waldrop, T. L. Hedrick
INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Meeting Abstract
Zoology
M. A. Byrd, T. L. Hedrick
INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Jung-Hee Seo, Tyson L. Hedrick, Rajat Mittal
BIOINSPIRATION & BIOMIMETICS
(2020)