PteroBot: A Forest Exploration Robot Bioinspired by Pteromyini Gliding Mechanism

Forests are critical ecosystems that play a fundamental role in supporting biodiversity and maintaining climate stability. However, forest monitoring and exploration present huge challenges due to the vast scale and complex terrain. This paper proposes a novel bionic robot, PteroBot, designed to support a new paradigm for forest exploration inspired by the locomotion of Pteromyini. PteroBot is capable of regulating its gliding posture via a flexible membrane, enabling low-energy and low-disturbance mobility within forest environments. An adaptive gliding control system tailored to the robot's structure is developed and its effectiveness is validated through aerodynamic analysis, simulation, and experimental testing. Results show that under a cascaded closed-loop attitude controller, PteroBot achieves an average glide ratio of 2.02 and demonstrates controllable turning via attitude modulation. Additionally, comparative tests with UAVs demonstrate that PteroBot offers significant advantages in energy efficiency and acoustic disturbance. Experimental outcomes confirm that PteroBot offers a biologically inspired and ecologically compatible solution for forest exploration, with strong potential in applications such as environmental monitoring, habitat assessment, and covert reconnaissance.