Design, Fabrication, Experimental Analysis, and Test Flight of an Origami-Based Fixed-Wing Aerial Vehicle: µPlane

This article covers details the design, fabrication, experimental analysis, and first flight tests of μPlane, an origami-inspired aerial vehicle. μPlane is a monoplane with a straight wing planform that has a wingspan of 580 millimeters and can reach a maximum linear velocity of 6.12 meters-per-second. The body of the μPlane is fabricated by folding a single, unified crease pattern which includes all the sections required to construct the wing, tail, fuselage, and connection ports for external components, such as actuators and batteries. The wing of the plane utilizes a cambered profile to generate the required lift force. An optimization problem is formulated to find a solution to the set of constraints that provides the desired camber form. To validate the proposed design, a 3D scan of the top surface of the wing is accrued using a high-resolution fringe projection system. Finally, the flight performance and stability of μPlane are tested in both indoor and outdoor environments.