Actuated Wings

For our final Principles of Engineering project we were instructed to create an integrated system with electrical, software, and mechanical components. Our team of five decided to design a pair of wearable mechanical wings that would react to environmental information and user movements.

Our final model included motor driven linkages with an extended wing-span of 8 feet. We mounted several fabric feathers to give the wings an elegant look. The harness that holds the wings to the user’s back incorporated strain-gauges (flex sensors) that detected arm movements and would tell the wings to expand or collapse to mimic the arm movements.

I designed the linkage system and driver in Solidworks in order to get the desired flapping motion as well as ensure that we could choose a motor and gearing ratio that would supply enough torque. This involved first creating a detailed Solidworks CAD model of the linkages that was originally driven by a geometry model that made quick adjustments easier. This produced a movable model that was modified to reference materials so that the entire model would have an accurate weight estimate. I used this information to calculate a conservative estimate for the required torque needed to lift the wing and found a motor that would be able to efficiently do this (using a motor data curve to ensure the motor would be running efficiently and not be strained).