L3 Report

Gliding is an efficient and versatile way to traverse large distances whilst expending as little energy as possible. Work done in the field of biomimetic robotics has demonstrated further benefits to gliding in increasing trajectory control and reducing landing impact loads. A small-scale micro-glider was built to fit a specific design envelope with the objective of maximizing its glide range. A linear dynamics model was used to design and predict the gliding performance of the robot. Once manufactured, it achieved a glide distance of 1.8m and the performance was accurately captured by the dynamics model.