  Perception systems for ornithopters face severe challenges. The harsh
vibrations and abrupt movements caused during flapping are prone to produce
motion blur and strong lighting condition changes. Their strict restrictions in
weight, size, and energy consumption also limit the type and number of sensors
to mount onboard. Lightweight traditional cameras have become a standard
off-the-shelf solution in many flapping-wing designs. However, bioinspired
event cameras are a promising solution for ornithopter perception due to their
microsecond temporal resolution, high dynamic range, and low power consumption.
This paper presents an experimental comparison between frame-based and an
event-based camera. Both technologies are analyzed considering the particular
flapping-wing robot specifications and also experimentally analyzing the
performance of well-known vision algorithms with data recorded onboard a
flapping-wing robot. Our results suggest event cameras as the most suitable
sensors for ornithopters. Nevertheless, they also evidence the open challenges
for event-based vision on board flapping-wing robots.
