Flapping flight from flexing foils

Many large insects power their flight with flexible wings that undergo remarkable deformations. The structural dynamics of wings and their interactions with fluid forces forms a fluid-solid coupling problem that is a focus of past and current research in the lab. In addition, wings of insects are imbued with a rich set of mechanosensory cells (about 500!) that report the spatial and temporal dynamics of wing deformation with incredible precision. This talk will focus on the combined sensing and actuation processes of flapping flexing foils. These may inspire new engineering designs for compliant wings.