Bioinspiration is the development of novel materials, devices, and structures inspired by solutions found in biological systems. The goal is to improve modelling of the biological system to attain a better understanding of the nature's structural features. It is a field based on observing the remarkable functions that characterize living organisms, and trying to imitate those functions. This special biological solution provides some inspiration for scientists and engineers to design multifunctional artificial materials with multiscale structures. Origin: Fascinated by the phenomenon of flight, Leonardo da Vinci produced detailed studies of the flight of birds, and plans for several flying machines, including a helicopter and a light hang glider. Bio-Inspiration Engineering Designing of Helicopters from Insects like dragonfly and Grasshoppers.

2. Credit Seminar
Presented By Marya Farid
Regd. No. J-20-M-724
Degree Programme Masters in Entomology
Advisor Dr. A.K. Singh
Seminar In-charge Dr. R.K. Gupta (HOD)

3. BIO-INSPIRATION ENGINEERING
FROM INSECTS FOR HELICOPTERS
SKUAST JAMMU
03-February-2022

4. CONTENTS
 Bio-Inspiration and Biomimicry
 Bio-Inspired design?
 Inspiration for the Helicopter
 The Dragonfly
 Wing Physiology of Dragonfly
 Dragonfly Flight
 Similarities between Dragonflies and Helicopters
 Inspiration from Grasshopper Legs


5. Introduction
 Bioinspiration is the development of novel materials, devices, and
structures inspired by solutions found in biological systems.
 The goal is to improve modelling of the biological system to attain a
better understanding of the nature's structural features.
 It is a field based on observing the remarkable functions that
characterize living organisms, and trying to imitate those functions.

6. Learning from nature has long been a source of bio-inspiration for
human beings.

7. This special biological solution provides some
inspiration for scientists and engineers to design
multifunctional artificial materials with
multiscale structures.
Buildings inspired by nature. (a) The lotus temple in India, inspired by the lotus flower; (b) the
Gherkin in London, UK, inspired by gherkins; (c) the Beijing national stadium in China,
inspired by birds' nests; (d) the Olympic pavilion in Barcelona, Spain, inspired by gold fish; (e)
and the Eastgate development in Zimbabwe, inspired by termite structures

8. Biomimicry
Biomimicry (from bios, meaning life, and mimesis meaning to imitate)
is a new science that studies natures best idea and then imitates these
designs and processes to solve human problems.

9. Origin
Fascinated by the phenomenon of flight,
Leonardo da Vinci produced detailed studies of
the flight of birds, and plans for several flying
machines, including a helicopter and a light
hang glider.

10.  Bioinspired design is studying the structure and function
of biological systems as models and designing or
engineering the new materials and machines. It is
widely regarded as being synonymous with biomimicry
and biomimetics.
WHAT IS BIOINSPIRED DESIGN?

11. The Inspiration for the Helicopter
 The world's leading helicopter manufacturer, Sikorsky, finished the
design of one of their helicopters by taking the dragonfly as a model,
which assisted Sikorsky in this project.
 Two thousand special renderings were done on computer in the light
of the manoeuvres of the dragonfly in air.
 Therefore, Sikorsky's model for transporting personnel and artillery
was built upon examples derived from dragonflies.

13. Inspiration From
Dragonfly

14. WING PHYSIOLOGY
 The physiology of dragonfly wings facilitates
their acrobatic flight.
 At the leading edge of each wing, dragonflies
have a "wing mark" or pterostigma; it acts like a
weight that helps stabilize the wing during flight.
 The weight prevents the ultra thin wings from
vibrating which would interfere with the
dragonfly's ability to glide quickly through the
air.
 In addition, the strongest part of the wing is a
long vein (costa) along the leading edge that
allows the dragonfly to cut through the air during
flight.

15. Direct Flight Mechanism
• In this mechanism muscles are
directly attached at the base of the
wings.
• You can see in the video on the
right side of the slide, like one set
of muscles attaches just inside the
base of the wing and the other set
attaches slightly outside to the
base of the wing.
• e.g. Dragonflies.
Direct flight: muscles
attached to wings.
Large insects only
The Odonata (dragonflies and
damselflies) have direct flight
musculature.

16. Dragonfly Flight
 Dragonflies have survived millions of years of evolution and are one of the most stable and
manoeuvrable flyers in nature.
 Their horizontal body posture allows them to change flight modes from hovering to fast forward or
turning swiftly and follow a target closely.
 Dragonflies can also fly backwards, sideways and even glide.
 Their flight speed is as high as 90km/h.
 The maximum thrust force their wings generate can go up to thirteen times their body weight.
 Dragonflies turn 180 degrees in only three wingbeats.

17. DRAGONFLY FLIGHT
 Dragonfly flight is powered by muscles that are attached to the base of
each wing. These muscles control wing shape and wing angle.
 To achieve the desired flight pattern, dragonflies can: adjust wing shape,
wing angle, move a wing more forward or backward from its usual
position.

19. Agility: They Are Masters of Flight
Dragonflies are like helicopters or it’s more
accurate to say helicopters are like dragonflies as
helicopters were designed to mimic dragonfly
abilities. They can fly in any direction (up,
down, forward, backward) or simply hover. All
four wings move independently, and can rotate
on an axis for incredible flight control. They can
changing direction instantly. And they can fly
upside-down.

20. Similarities between Dragonfly and Helicopter
 Dragonflies have two sets of wings that are almost
identical. When the dragonfly is traveling forward,
the front set of wings gives the dragonfly its lift, and
the rear wings provide propulsion, and they can also
fly backwards.
 Some of the first helicopters were equipped with
metal blades. However, inventors and scientists
soon discovered that these metal blades did not
allow for agile handling of the aircraft, nor did
metal blades endure the stresses of flight, due to the
rigidity of the metal.

21. Cont.…
 Composite materials, such as carbon fibres, were finally
settled upon as the material of choice for the rotor's
blades because they are both strong and flexible, and do
not crack as easily under stress. This allows for the
helicopter to be fast and manoeuvrable, traits needed in
modern war aircraft.
 Very similarly, the dragonfly's wings are “composite,”
being made up of many smaller, paper-thin wing
sections, held together by little channels, which are a
type of blood veins. The leading edge of the dragonfly's
wings are quite a bit thicker than the rest of the wing,
which helps to prevent the wings from fluttering while in
flight.
The intricate patterns on this dragonfly
wing

22. Inspiration Form
Grasshopper Legs

23.  Helicopters are often used in rescue situations because, compared to planes, they offer better
manoeuvrability, can hover, and can land in a more restricted area. However, they still need
a flat surface to land on.
 Sometimes It can also be difficult to land safely on transport ships at sea during rough
conditions. And sometimes the rotor blades could hit the deck, with disastrous
consequences.
 DARPA, the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency in the USA, has recently
demonstrated a new design to overcome these issues. Developed at the Georgia Institute of
Technology, the Robotic Landing Gear takes inspiration from the legs of grasshopper to
provide a much more flexible landing.
PUTTING INSECT LEGS ON A HELICOPTER LETS IT LAND
ANYWHERE

24. Robotic Landing Gear
 Instead of the traditional skids, the DARPA prototype features four articulated robotic legs, each
equipped with a contact sensor in the foot.
 Automated folding legs radically adapt to angled, irregular and moving surfaces.
 On landing, these sensors allow the legs to flex and adapt to the surface, determining the best angle to
create a level landing.
 During flight, these legs can be drawn up against the helicopter’s body to maintain an aerodynamic
profile.
 The Defence Advanced Research Institute now has a solution for landing in choppy seas and uneven
terrain.

25. Robotic Landing Geared Helicopter
• DARPA has conducted an experimental
demonstration of a novel robotic landing gear
system.
• The adaptive system replaces standard landing
gear with four articulated, jointed legs that are
able to fold up next to the helicopter’s fuselage
while in flight and are equipped with force-
sensitive contact sensors in their feet.
• During landing, each leg extends and uses its
sensors to determine in real time the appropriate
angle to assume to ensure that the helicopter
stays level and minimize any risk of the rotor
touching the landing area.

27. Conclusion
1. Bio-inspiration is the study of emulating and mimicking nature,
where it has been used by designers to help in solving human
problems.
2. From centuries ago designers and architects looked at nature as a
huge source of inspiration. Bio-inspiration argues that nature is the
best, most influencing and the guaranteed source of innovation for
the designers.
3. The bio-inspiration emerging field deals with new technologies
skillfully.

28. Discover the
Nature,
Be an inventor.