Bat Bot (B2)

Hardware Design

  • Motivation: develop a system that improves upon the safety and agility of state-of-the-art aerial systems
  • Bat Bot (B2) mimics the salient features of biological bats to achieve this
    • Synchronous flapping wings
    • Morphing wings (folding/unfolding)
    • Actuated hindlimbs for stabilizing flight
    • Silicone membrane mimicking bat skin
    • Wings: custom 3D printed nylon parts and carbon fiber tubes
    • Fuselage: carbon fiber sheets
  • Self-contained platform with on-board processing and sensing
    • ARM Cortex-M4 microprocessor
    • Inertial measurement unit (IMU)
    • Joint encoders on the wings and legs
    • Motors to drive and stabilize the system in flight

    Previous collaborators:

    • Professor Joohyung Kim, UIUC
    • Professor Seth Hutchinson, Georgia Tech
    • Professor Soon-Jo Chung, Caltech
    • Professor Alireza Ramezani, Northeastern University
    • Usman Syed, UIUC
    Redesign to Bat Bot 2.0