Aerodynamics
Related papers: 20
About
Aerodynamics is the branch of fluid mechanics that studies how air interacts with moving bodies, governing the forces of lift, drag, and thrust that enable flight. In robotics and AI, aerodynamics is central to designing and controlling aerial vehicles — from quadrotors and fixed-wing drones to bio-inspired flapping-wing micro air vehicles (MAVs) modeled after insects like fruit flies and honeybees. Researchers study phenomena such as leading-edge vortices, unsteady flow effects, and wing-wake interactions to understand how robots can generate sufficient lift at small scales and low Reynolds numbers, where conventional aerodynamic principles often break down. These insights directly inform the mechanical design of wings and rotors, as well as flight control algorithms that compensate for turbulence, gusts, and proximity effects. Aerodynamics matters because it fundamentally constrains what aerial robots can do — their efficiency, agility, payload capacity, and flight endurance — making it an essential foundation for advancing autonomous drones, swarm robotics, and next-generation aerial platforms.
Top Researchers
Top Institutes
Top Cited Papers
The aerodynamics of insect flight
Sanjay P. Sane
Citations: 1238 • 2003
The First Takeoff of a Biologically Inspired At-Scale Robotic Insect
Robert J. Wood
Citations: 905 • 2008
Untethered flight of an insect-sized flapping-wing microscale aerial vehicle
Noah T. Jafferis, E. Farrell Helbling, Michael Karpelson, Robert J. Wood
Citations: 537 • 2019
The Aerodynamics of Free-Flight Maneuvers in <i>Drosophila</i>
Steven N. Fry, Rosalyn W. Sayaman, Michael H. Dickinson
Citations: 534 • 2003
Rotational accelerations stabilize leading edge vortices on revolving fly wings
David Lentink, Michael H. Dickinson
Citations: 521 • 2009
Modelling and control of a large quadrotor robot
Pauline Pounds, Robert Mahony, Peter Corke
Citations: 514 • 2010
Unsteady forces and flows in low Reynolds number hovering flight:two-dimensional computations<i>vs</i>robotic wing experiments
Z. Jane Wang, James M. Birch, Michael H. Dickinson
Citations: 508 • 2003
Force production and flow structure of the leading edge vortex on flapping wings at high and low Reynolds numbers
James M. Birch, William Dickson, Michael H. Dickinson
Citations: 431 • 2004
Towards a swarm of agile micro quadrotors
Alex Kushleyev, Daniel Mellinger, Caitlin Powers, Vijay Kumar
Citations: 418 • 2013
Perching and takeoff of a robotic insect on overhangs using switchable electrostatic adhesion
Moritz A. Graule, Pakpong Chirarattananon, Sawyer B. Fuller, Noah T. Jafferis, K. Y., Matthew Spenko, Roy Kornbluh, Robert J. Wood
Citations: 402 • 2016
The influence of wing–wake interactions on the production of aerodynamic forces in flapping flight
James M. Birch, Michael H. Dickinson
Citations: 401 • 2003
Backstepping Approach for Controlling a Quadrotor Using Lagrange Form Dynamics
Abhijit Das, Frank L. Lewis, Kamesh Subbarao
Citations: 373 • 2009
Flapping flight for biomimetic robotic insects: part I-system modeling
Xinyan Deng, Luca Schenato, W.C. Wu, S. Shankar Sastry
Citations: 350 • 2006
The aerodynamics of hovering flight in<i>Drosophila</i>
Steven N. Fry, Rosalyn W. Sayaman, Michael H. Dickinson
Citations: 327 • 2005
Introduction to feedback control of underactuated VTOLvehicles: A review of basic control design ideas and principles
Minh‐Duc Hua, Tarek Hamel, Patrick Gallinari, Claude Samson
Citations: 308 • 2013
Flapping flight for biomimetic robotic insects: part II-flight control design
Xinyan Deng, Luca Schenato, S. Shankar Sastry
Citations: 274 • 2006
Aerodynamic effects of flexibility in flapping wings
Liang Zhao, Qingfeng Huang, Xinyan Deng, Sanjay P. Sane
Citations: 272 • 2009
Aeromechanics of passive rotation in flapping flight
John P. Whitney, Robert J. Wood
Citations: 269 • 2010
Digital Morphing Wing: Active Wing Shaping Concept Using Composite Lattice-Based Cellular Structures
Benjamin Jenett, Sam Calisch, Daniel Cellucci, Nick B. Cramer, Neil Gershenfeld, Sean Swei, Kenneth Cheung
Citations: 257 • 2016
Short-amplitude high-frequency wing strokes determine the aerodynamics of honeybee flight
Douglas L. Altshuler, William Dickson, Jason T. Vance, Michael H. Dickinson
Citations: 243 • 2005