Control model for robotic samara: Dynamics about a coordinated helical turn

This paper details the flight dynamics and control of a prototype mono-wing rotorcraft that mimics the passive transit of the species of samara (winged seed), Acer diabolicum Blume. The asymmetric and all-rotating platform requires the development of a novel sensing and control framework. The general rigid body dynamics are separated into rotor dynamics and particle navigation, which are derived for a coordinated helical turn flight path. The equations of motion are used to calculate the forces necessary for flight along a trajectory recorded with a visual motion capture system. The result is a framework for state estimation and control, applicable to scaled versions of the robotic samara.