  The objective of this work is to design and develop a bio-inspired soft and
articulated armwing structure which will be an integral component of a morphing
aerial co-bot, Aerobat. In our design, we draw inspiration from bats. Bat
membranous wings possess unique functions that make them a good example to take
inspiration from and transform current aerial drones. In contrast with other
flying vertebrates, bats have an extremely articulated musculoskeletal system,
key to their body impact-survivability and deliver an impressively adaptive and
multimodal locomotion behavior. Bats exclusively use this capability with
structural flexibility to generate the controlled force distribution on each
wing membrane. The wing flexibility, complex wing kinematics, and fast muscle
actuation allow these creatures to change the body configuration within a few
tens of milliseconds. These characteristics are crucial to the unrivaled
agility of bats and copying them can potentially transform the state-of-the-art
aerial drone design.
