Quantitative analysis of the morphing wing mechanism of raptors: morphing kinematics of Falco peregrinus wing

Abstract

Raptors are getting more attention from researchers because of their excellent flight abilities. And the excellent wing morphing ability is critical for raptors to achieve high maneuvering flight, which can be a good bionic inspiration for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) design. However, morphing wing motions of Falco peregrinus with multi postures cannot be consulted since such a motion database was nonexistent. This study aimed to provide data reference for future research in wing morphing kinetics. We used the computed tomography (CT) approach to obtain nine critical postures of the Falco peregrinus wing skeleton, followed with motion analysis of each joint and bone. Based on the obtained motion database, a six-bar kinematic model was proposed to regenerate wing motions with a high fidelity.