Researchers Crack Flying Insect Aerodynamics

September 21st, 2009

About a month ago I shared a story that I called, Kill Every Fly You See, about some researchers that had discovered how to make micro-flying robots actually fly better than flies. They discovered that rotating wings, rather than flapping wings were more efficient and burned less energy.

Now, another set of researchers, have published a study that focuses on the amazing aerodynamics of the flying insect.

Dr John Young, from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia, and a team of animal flight researchers from Oxford University’s Department of Zoology, used high-speed digital video cameras to film locusts in action in a wind tunnel, capturing how the shape of a locust’s wing changes in flight. They used that information to create a computer model which recreates the airflow and thrust generated by the complex flapping movement.

So we have insect research that gives us more efficient energy savers, and more aerodynamic research to help produce tiny flying machines it appears. Both combined may help produce some good, and unfortunately bad, machines to either spy, or help those who may be trapped in a burning building for instance. HEck…maybe owning wone of these will help your auto insurance quotes eventually. Considering this research is out now, this is probably already happening anyways. You know I can’t go one post like this and not bring up some conspiracy for people to worry about…:D

Let’s give Dr. Young the honor of explaining his own research in greater detail…

“The so-called `bumblebee paradox’ claiming that insects defy the laws of aerodynamics, is dead. Modern aerodynamics really can accurately model insect flight,” said Dr Young, a lecturer in the School of Aerospace, Civil and Mechanical Engineering at the Australian Defence Force Academy (UNSW@ADFA).

“Biological systems have been optimised through evolutionary pressures over millions of years, and offer many examples of performance that far outstrips what we can achieve artificially.

“An insect’s delicately structured wings, with their twists and curves, and ridged and wrinkled surfaces, are about as far away as you can get from the streamlined wing of an aircraft,” Dr Young said.

“Until very recently it hasn’t been possible to measure the actual shape of an insect’s wings in flight – partly because their wings flap so fast, and partly because their shape is so complicated.

“Locusts are an interesting insect for engineers to study because of their ability to fly extremely long distances on very limited energy reserves.”