PteroBot: A Forest Exploration Robot Bioinspired by Pteromyini Gliding Mechanism

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Bio-inspired Engineering
• Ecology

Background:

• Forest monitoring faces challenges due to vast scale and complex terrain.
• Existing methods like Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can be energy-intensive and disruptive.
• There is a need for ecologically compatible and efficient forest exploration technologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce PteroBot, a novel bionic robot for forest exploration.
• To develop and validate an adaptive gliding control system for PteroBot.
• To assess PteroBot's performance against UAVs in terms of energy efficiency and acoustic disturbance.

Main Methods:

• Designing a bionic robot, PteroBot, inspired by Pteromyini locomotion.
• Developing an adaptive gliding control system with a flexible membrane for posture regulation.
• Conducting aerodynamic analysis, simulations, and experimental testing, including comparative tests with UAVs.

Main Results:

• PteroBot achieved an average glide ratio of 2.02 under a cascaded closed-loop attitude controller.
• Controllable turning was demonstrated through attitude modulation.
• PteroBot showed significant advantages over UAVs in energy efficiency and reduced acoustic disturbance.

Conclusions:

• PteroBot presents a biologically inspired and ecologically compatible solution for forest exploration.
• The robot's low-energy, low-disturbance mobility is suitable for sensitive forest environments.
• PteroBot has strong potential for applications in environmental monitoring, habitat assessment, and covert reconnaissance.