• The utilization of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has been expanding, particularly for surveillance and monitoring, with increasing demands for longer-range and extended-duration flights. By adopting "morphing wings," which can significantly change their entire wing surface in response to flight conditions—similar to the wings of migratory birds—it is believed that more efficient flight can be achieved. To apply this concept to the main wings of small UAVs, a unique morphing wing framework was designed and manufactured, demonstrating that its deformation state can be precisely measured using a stereo camera.

In recent years, the use of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has been expanding, particularly for surveillance, disaster response, and small-scale deliveries, leading to increasing demands for longer-range and extended-duration flights. Current aircraft and UAV wings consist of fixed wings and movable surfaces such as flaps and ailerons, which enable flight control by adjusting their positions. However, migratory birds achieve stable flight by significantly deforming their entire wings, optimizing lift and drag accordingly. Wings that undergo substantial shape changes across their entire surface are known as "morphing wings," and research on their application to UAVs is advancing, primarily in Europe and the United States.

Our laboratory is also conducting research, as shown in Fig.1, to apply morphing wings to the wingtips of small UAVs comparable in size to migratory birds. As part of this effort, we have developed a technique to precisely measure the deformation state of morphing wings using stereo cameras, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The morphing wing must be designed and fabricated to exhibit the intended deformation when subjected to bending and twisting loads expected during flight. Notably, morphing wings were initially employed in the world's first powered aircraft, the Wright Flyer, designed by the Wright brothers. Moving forward, this technology is expected to regain attention in the design of small UAVs.

Reference
Katagiri, K., Park, C. S., Kawakita, S., Tamayama, M., Honda, S., & Sasaki, K. (2024). Deformation measurement of CFRP skeletal structure for the twist morphing wing by using the stereo vision. In AIAA SCITECH 2024 Forum (AIAA 2024-0850).
https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2024-0850