Early-career research(J-PEAKS)

Flying robots used for filming, inspection, and entertainment still face challenges in efficiency, stability, safety, noise, and environmental perception. In contrast, insects and birds in nature have long flown elegantly in the environments where aerial robots are expected to operate, and at scales comparable to those robots. By understanding these natural fliers, we can obtain a wealth of insights that are useful from an engineering perspective. I have been using simulation and robotics to elucidate the mechanisms of biological flight and to inform the bio-inspired design of novel aerial robots.

Tools that aid our understanding of biological flight—such as simulation and robotics—can also help us interpret the flight of extinct organisms, for which only fragmentary information remains. For example, the origin of avian flight remains a highly intriguing topic of ongoing debate. Regarding Archaeopteryx, the oldest known bird, a variety of hypotheses have been proposed based on skeletal fossils and comparisons with living birds. However, because its skeleton differs markedly from that of modern birds, each hypothesis faces counterarguments and no consensus has been reached. In this project, using fossil-based information as a starting point, I will make full use of “mechanics” and “robotics”—the tools I have employed to understand biological flight—to decode how Archaeopteryx flew. In the course of this effort, we may uncover flight modes that are fundamentally different from those currently known, yielding insights with potential value for engineering as well.

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