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Additively Manufactured Dragonfly-Inspired Wings for Bio-Faithful Flapping MAV Development.

Emilia Georgiana Prisăcariu¹, Oana Dumitrescu¹, Sergiu Strătilă¹

¹Romanian Research and Development Institute for Gas Turbines COMOTI, 061126 Bucharest, Romania.

Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland)

|December 24, 2025

Summary

Researchers created bio-faithful dragonfly wings for flapping micro air vehicles (MAVs). The 3D-printed wings mimic natural structures, showing realistic movement and paving the way for advanced MAV designs.

Keywords:

Additive Manufacturing biomimetic micro air vehicles dragonfly wing morphology flapping-wing aerodynamics venation architecture

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Area of Science:

Biomimetics
Aerospace Engineering
Materials Science

Background:

Micro air vehicles (MAVs) require efficient and agile flight mechanisms.
Dragonfly wings offer a complex, high-performance model for bio-inspired design.

Purpose of the Study:

To design and fabricate bio-faithful dragonfly wings for MAV applications.
To evaluate the structural and aerodynamic properties of the bio-inspired wings.

Main Methods:

High-resolution imaging and CAD to reconstruct natural wing venation.
High-precision stereolithography for 3D printing at 1:1 and 3:1 scales.
Modal analysis, dynamic testing, schlieren, and infrared thermography for performance evaluation.

Main Results:

Printed wings preserved anisotropic stiffness, exhibiting realistic bending and torsion.
Lightweight designs operated within the biologically relevant 20-40 Hz frequency range.
Aerodynamic estimates showed characteristic anti-phase lift; thermal imaging revealed vein-driven flow features.

Conclusions:

Bio-faithful venation architectures are feasible and functionally relevant for MAVs.
The study provides a foundation for future MAV wing iterations with membranes and advanced actuation.
Predictable tuning of natural frequencies was achieved through material and geometric choices.