Bioligically Inspired Feedback Design for Drosophila Flight
Michael Epstein, Stephen Waydo, Sawyer B. Fuller, Will Dickson, Andrew Straw, Michael H. Dickinson and Richard M. Murray
To appear, 2007 American Control Conference (ACC)
In this work the authors use a biologically moti-
vated model of the Drosophila’s flight mechanics and sensor
processing to design a feedback control scheme to regulate
forward flight. The model used for insect flight is the Grand
Unified Fly (GUF) [3] simulation consisting of a rigid-body
simulation, a model of the aerodynamic forces and moments as
well as a sensory systems and environment model. It is desired
to design a control algorithm that will convert the sensory
output signals into proper wing beat commands to regulate
forward flight. Modulating the wing beat frequency and mean
stroke angle produce changes in the flight envelope. The sensory
outputs consist of estimates of translational velocity from
the visual processing units and rotational velocity estimates
from the haltere organs. The controller is designed based
on a longitudinal model of the flight dynamics. Feedforward
commands are generated based on a desired forward velocity.
The dynamics are linearized around this operating point and
a feedback controller designed to correct deviations from the
operating point. The control algorithm is implemented in the
GUF simulator and achieves the desired tracking of the forward
reference velocities and exhibits biologically realistic responses.
Conference Paper
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Richard Murray
(murray@cds. caltech.edu)