| Flapping-wing robotic insects are small, highly maneuverable flying robots inspired by biological insects and useful for a wide range of tasks, including exploration, environmental monitoring, search and rescue, and surveillance. Recent advances in aerodynamic, mechanical design, and piezoelectric actuation have enabled milligram-scale robotic insects capable of liftoff with external power. This work describes the next step in the development of a fully autonomous robotic insect: the design and implementation of a lightweight power electronics package that can meet the stringent weight and power requirements of flapping-wing flight. The scope of this work includes the drive methods and requirements of piezoelectric actuators, power circuit topologies and control methods that lend themselves to miniaturization while maintaining high efficiency, the optimization and physical instantiation of these topologies, and the design of a custom integrated circuit to implement control functionality. The power electronics design problem is also examined in a broader context through a system-level power model. |
