Conformal antenna for insect-scale bionic aircraft

Abstract

This invention provides a conformal antenna for insect-scale small biomimetic aircraft, relating to the field of biomimetic aircraft technology. In this invention, the body structure of the insect-scale small biomimetic aircraft includes legs, a tail, and wings; several conformal antennas are respectively configured around the legs, tail, and wings, operating in different frequency bands and receiving electromagnetic signal excitation from corresponding feed points. The insect biomimetic antenna is both a structural component of the organism and a communication component for electromagnetic transmission, essentially integrating multiple functions into one structure; multi-functional multiplexing is an effective way to achieve miniaturization and lightweighting of insect biomimetic aircraft. The application of the antenna described in this invention significantly improves the level of multi-frequency high-speed data transmission in biomimetic aircraft, while also endowing them with extremely high stealth capabilities.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of biomimetic aircraft technology, specifically to a conformal antenna for use in insect-scale small biomimetic aircraft. Background Technology

[0002] Based on existing integration technologies, payloads such as control chips, sensors, and detectors can be miniaturized and integrated into small biomimetic aircraft. However, for communication antennas, the gain requirements of the aircraft platform make it difficult to integrate them with a small platform simply by reducing their size.

[0003] Furthermore, conventional methods of externally mounting or suspending antennas on aircraft increase the overall weight and complexity of the aircraft, negatively impacting aerodynamic performance and significantly impairing biomimetic capabilities. Since antennas are essential components for wireless communication, and high-speed wireless data transmission places a significant demand on multi-frequency, broadband antennas...

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need for antennas that can be highly integrated with insect-inspired bionic aircraft and have good aerodynamic and electromagnetic performance. Only on this basis can we eventually realize an intelligent micro bionic aircraft that integrates many functions such as stealth flight, information collection, and efficient data transmission. Summary of the Invention

[0005] (a) Technical problems to be solved

[0006] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides a conformal antenna for use in insect-scale small biomimetic aircraft, effectively solving the problem of integrating communication antennas with small biomimetic aircraft platforms without compromising the aerodynamics or biomimetic properties of the small aircraft.

[0007] Technical solution

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution:

[0009] A conformal antenna is used in an insect-scale small biomimetic aircraft. The body structure of the insect-scale small biomimetic aircraft includes legs, tail and wings. Several conformal antennas are respectively configured with legs, tail and wings, operate in different frequency bands, and are provided with electromagnetic signal excitation by corresponding feed points.

[0010] Preferably, the conformal antenna with legs and tail is obtained by using 3D metal printing technology and then painting.

[0011] Preferably, the 3D metal printing technology employs any one of fused deposition modeling, selective laser melting, direct metal laser sintering, electron beam melting, and binder jetting.

[0012] Preferably, a metal sheet etching process is used, followed by pressing a plastic film to obtain the conformal antenna with a wing-like configuration.

[0013] Preferably, the metal sheet etching process uses a copper sheet structure.

[0014] Preferably, the conformal antenna is a dipole antenna.

[0015] Preferably, the insect-level small biomimetic aircraft is a dragonfly-inspired small aircraft, and the conformal antenna specifically includes a dragonfly foreleg antenna, a dragonfly midleg antenna, a dragonfly hindleg antenna, a dragonfly forewing antenna, a dragonfly hindwing antenna, and a dragonfly tail antenna, and each is provided with electromagnetic signal excitation by a corresponding feed point.

[0016] Preferably, the insect-level small biomimetic aircraft is a bee-inspired small aircraft, and the conformal antenna specifically includes a bee foreleg antenna, a bee midleg antenna, a bee hindleg antenna, and a bee wing antenna, each provided with electromagnetic signal excitation by a corresponding feed point.

[0017] (III) Beneficial Effects

[0018] This invention provides a conformal antenna for use in insect-scale small biomimetic aircraft. Compared with existing technologies, it has the following advantages:

[0019] In this invention, the body structure of the insect-scale miniature biomimetic aircraft includes legs, a tail, and wings. Several conformal antennas are configured based on the legs, tail, and wings, operating in different frequency bands and receiving electromagnetic signal excitation from corresponding feed points. The insect-like biomimetic antenna serves as both a structural component of the organism and a communication component for electromagnetic transmission, essentially integrating multiple functions into a single structure. Multifunctional multiplexing is an effective way to achieve miniaturization and lightweight design of insect-like biomimetic aircraft. The application of the antennas described in this invention significantly improves the level of multi-frequency high-speed data transmission in biomimetic aircraft, while also endowing them with extremely high stealth capabilities. Attached Figure Description

[0020] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0021] Figure 1 A three-dimensional structural diagram of a dragonfly-inspired small flying vehicle provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the conformal antenna structure and layout of a dragonfly-inspired small aircraft provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figures 3-8 The S-shaped antennas for the forelegs, midlegs, hindlegs, forewings, hindwings, and tail of a dragonfly-like small aircraft provided in this embodiment of the invention are respectively... 11 Performance curve;

[0024] Figure 9 A three-dimensional structural diagram of a bee-inspired small flying vehicle provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of the conformal antenna structure and layout of a bee-inspired small aircraft provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figures 11-14 The S-shaped antennas of the forelegs, midlegs, hindlegs, and wings of a bee-like small aircraft provided in this embodiment of the invention are respectively... 11 Performance curve;

[0027] Figure 15 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method for fabricating a conformal antenna for an insect-scale small biomimetic aircraft, as provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0028] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are described clearly and completely. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0029] This application provides a conformal antenna for insect-scale small biomimetic aircraft, which effectively solves the problem of combining communication antennas with small biomimetic aircraft platforms without compromising the aerodynamics and biomimetic properties of the small aircraft.

[0030] The technical solution in this application is to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, and the general idea is as follows:

[0031] In 1992, at a workshop on future military technologies held by the RAND Corporation and the Defense Advanced Research Program Agency (DARPA), Senior Scientist Orgenstein chaired a discussion on micro-aircraft. Experts believed that micro-aircraft systems should have the following characteristics:

[0032] A covert reconnaissance system suitable for military use;

[0033] It should have a close-range imaging system with sufficient resolution to transmit important details of the observed target;

[0034] It has the ability to accurately determine geographical location;

[0035] Small in size and light in weight, so that it can be carried in a soldier's backpack;

[0036] Inexpensive, and even disposable;

[0037] It has good concealment, is not easily detected by the enemy, and cannot reveal the location of the user.

[0038] Furthermore, intelligent micro-bionic aircraft frequently appear in science fiction works, integrating functions such as stealth flight, information gathering, and efficient data transmission. However, in reality, such aircraft are still in the research stage, and many technological bottlenecks need to be overcome.

[0039] As mentioned in the background section, existing antenna designs often involve external mounting or suspension on small aircraft, but this is not suitable for biomimetic aircraft. This is because such methods severely compromise stealth capabilities, increase the weight and size of the aircraft, and may even affect the aerodynamic performance of small biomimetic aircraft.

[0040] This invention achieves a perfect integration of antennas and a small biomimetic aircraft through a biomimetic conformal antenna. Based on the structural characteristics of the biomimetic body, multiple antennas are designed in suitable locations to form a multi-band antenna cluster of a certain scale, enabling high-speed wireless data transmission. Specifically, taking a dragonfly-inspired small aircraft as an example, the dragonfly's body structure includes forelegs, midlegs, hindlegs, forewings, hindwings, and a tail. Each part can be individually designed as a dipole antenna for a specific frequency band. In this way, each body structure of the dragonfly not only serves as a body component but also acts as a high-performance electromagnetic antenna, achieving multiple benefits.

[0041] To better understand the above technical solutions, the following will provide a detailed explanation of the technical solutions in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0042] This invention provides two insect prototypes for the conformal antenna applied to insect-scale small biomimetic aircraft: a dragonfly in Embodiment 1 and a bee in Embodiment 2. It elaborates on the design of a biomimetic conformal antenna based on the insect's body structure and further provides a fabrication method for the related biomimetic conformal antenna in Embodiment 3. The following provides a detailed description of each embodiment.

[0043] Example 1:

[0044] To clearly demonstrate the conformal antenna based on a dragonfly biomimetic aircraft provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Figure 1 and Figure 2 Three-dimensional structural diagrams of the small dragonfly-shaped aircraft and corresponding conformal antenna structures and layout diagrams are presented. The complete dragonfly biomimetic antenna system includes: 1. Dragonfly foreleg antenna; 2. Dragonfly midleg antenna; 3. Dragonfly hindleg antenna; 4. Dragonfly forewing antenna; 5. Dragonfly hindwing antenna; and 6. Dragonfly tail antenna. These antenna structures are based on the dipole antenna design and can operate in different frequency bands, giving the dragonfly biomimetic aircraft multi-frequency high-speed wireless data transmission capabilities. Figures 3 to 8 The antennas, in order, are: dragonfly foreleg antenna 1, dragonfly midleg antenna 2, dragonfly hindleg antenna 3, dragonfly forewing antenna 4, dragonfly hindwing antenna 5, and dragonfly tail antenna 6. 11 The characteristic curve (input return loss) corresponds to multiple operating frequency bands and has good performance.

[0045] Among them, such as Figures 3-8 As shown, feed points 101, 201, 301, 401, 501, and 601 provide electromagnetic signal excitation to the corresponding bionic antennas.

[0046] Example 2:

[0047] To clearly demonstrate the conformal antenna based on a bee-inspired flight vehicle provided in Embodiment 2 of the present invention Figure 9 and Figure 10 Three-dimensional structural diagrams of the bee-shaped small aircraft and corresponding conformal antenna structures and layout diagrams are presented. The complete bee-inspired antenna system includes bee foreleg antenna 7, bee midleg antenna 8, bee hindleg antenna 9, and bee wing antenna 10. These antenna structures are also based on dipole antennas and can operate in different frequency bands, giving the bee-inspired aircraft multi-frequency high-speed wireless data transmission capabilities. Figures 11 to 14 The antennas are arranged in order as follows: 7 for the bee's forelegs, 8 for the bee's midlegs, 9 for the bee's hind legs, and 10 for the bee's wings. 11 The characteristic curve (input return loss) corresponds to multiple operating frequency bands and has good performance.

[0048] Among them, such as Figures 11-14As shown, feed points 7701, 801, 901, and 1001 provide electromagnetic signal excitation to the corresponding bionic antennas.

[0049] Understandably, as a further improvement, insect-based small biomimetic aircraft can take the form of many insects such as ladybugs and beetles, in addition to bee and dragonfly structures. The shape of their corresponding functional components and the distribution of their loads are similar to those in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0050] Example 3:

[0051] This invention, through engineering experience and process exploration, yields a method for fabricating conformal antennas applicable to insect-scale small biomimetic aircraft, such as... Figure 15 As shown.

[0052] For biomimetic conformal antennas with leg and tail configurations, 3D metal printing technology can be used for fabrication, followed by painting to make them more visually similar to the real object. 3D printing technology, also known as additive manufacturing or rapid prototyping, is a technique based on discrete stacking principles. First, a 3D model is created on a computer. Then, the data processed by slicing software is transmitted to the printer. The machine processes the material layer by layer according to machine code, with molten material adhering to each layer, gradually forming the target object, similar to an integral process. The energy source for 3D metal printed antenna technology is mainly laser or electron beam, and the material is generally metal powder or conductive ink. Currently, the main processes for 3D metal printed antenna technology include: fused deposition modeling (FDM), selective laser melting (SIM), direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), electron beam melting (EBM), and binder jetting (BJ). FDM belongs to the material extrusion type, SIM, DMLS and EBM belong to the powder bed fusion type, and BJ belongs to the material spraying type.

[0053] For wing-shaped biomimetic conformal antennas, embodiments of this invention have attempted to fabricate wing-shaped biomimetic conformal antennas using 3D metal printing technology, with aluminum alloy as the material. While the antenna testing results met technical specifications, the drawbacks included a large antenna thickness and high hardness, failing to meet the visual requirements of wing-shaped biomimetic antennas. Furthermore, wings are delicate structures, and the limited precision of 3D metal printing makes it difficult to form the small textures on the wing-shaped biomimetic antenna, leading to some gaps being glued together during the printing process. Therefore, based on engineering practice, a metal sheet etching process will be used to fabricate wing-shaped biomimetic antennas.

[0054] Metal sheet etching, also known as photochemical etching, refers to the process of removing the protective film from the area to be etched after exposure and development. During etching, the area comes into contact with a chemical solution, achieving a dissolving and corroding effect to create raised or hollowed-out shapes. Etching technology is widely used to reduce weight in instrument panels, nameplates, and other thin workpieces that are difficult to process using traditional methods. For the designed thin biomimetic wings, etching technology can well meet the requirements. The resulting wing-like biomimetic antenna is not only lightweight and thin, but also beautifully reproduces the details of the wing's texture, achieving a high degree of similarity to a real wing.

[0055] Meanwhile, through multiple experiments, the embodiments of this invention have found that a copper sheet structure is more suitable, as it has a certain degree of metallic elasticity and can swing flexibly. Furthermore, to make the bionic wings appear more realistic, a plastic film can be pressed onto the wings to isolate them from air and slow down the oxidation of the wing's bionic antenna.

[0056] In summary, compared with existing technologies, it has the following beneficial effects:

[0057] 1. In this invention, the insect biomimetic antenna is both a structural component of the organism and a communication component for electromagnetic transmission, which is equivalent to integrating multiple functions into the same structure; multi-functional reuse is an effective way to achieve miniaturization and lightweighting of insect biomimetic aircraft.

[0058] 2. In addition, it is difficult to mount too many communication antennas on insect-sized small aircraft by using the traditional method of external and suspended antennas. However, by introducing insect-inspired antennas, not only is the level of multi-frequency high-speed data transmission of bionic aircraft improved, but also the bionic aircraft is endowed with extremely high stealth capabilities.

[0059] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0060] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not intended to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A conformal antenna for use in insect-scale small biomimetic aircraft, characterized in that, The insect-like small biomimetic aircraft has a body structure including legs, tail and wings; several conformal antennas are respectively configured with legs, tail and wings, operate in different frequency bands, and are provided with electromagnetic signal excitation by corresponding feed points; The conformal antenna is obtained by using a metal sheet etching process followed by pressing a plastic film to obtain a conformal antenna with the wing as its configuration.

2. The conformal antenna for insect-scale small biomimetic aircraft as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The conformal antenna, with its legs and tail as its configuration, is obtained by using 3D metal printing technology and then painting.

3. The conformal antenna for insect-scale small biomimetic aircraft as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The 3D metal printing technology employs any one of the following: fused deposition modeling, selective laser melting, direct metal laser sintering, electron beam melting, and binder jetting.

4. The conformal antenna for insect-scale small biomimetic aircraft as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The metal sheet etching process uses a copper sheet structure.

5. The conformal antenna for insect-scale small biomimetic aircraft as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The conformal antenna is a dipole antenna.

6. The conformal antenna for insect-scale small biomimetic aircraft as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The insect-level small biomimetic aircraft is a dragonfly-inspired small aircraft. The conformal antenna specifically includes a dragonfly foreleg antenna (1), a dragonfly midleg antenna (2), a dragonfly hindleg antenna (3), a dragonfly forewing antenna (4), a dragonfly hindwing antenna (5), and a dragonfly tail antenna (6), which are respectively provided with electromagnetic signal excitation by feed points (101, 201, 301, 401, 501, 601).

7. The conformal antenna for insect-scale small biomimetic aircraft as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The insect-level small biomimetic aircraft is a bee-like small aircraft. The conformal antenna specifically includes a bee foreleg antenna (7), a bee midleg antenna (8), a bee hindleg antenna (9), and a bee wing antenna (10), and is provided with electromagnetic signal excitation by feed points (701, 801, 901, 1001) respectively.

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