Computational Methods for Cognitive and Cooperative Robotics

In the last decades design methods in control engineering made substantial progress in the areas of robotics and computer animation. Nowadays these methods incorporate the newest developments in machine learning and artificial intelligence. But the problems of flexible and online-adaptive combinations of motor behaviors remain challenging for human-like animations and for humanoid robotics. In this context, biologically-motivated methods for the analysis and re-synthesis of human motor programs provide new insights in and models for the anticipatory motion synthesis. This thesis presents the author’s achievements in the areas of cognitive and developmental robotics, cooperative and humanoid robotics and intelligent and machine learning methods in computer graphics. The first part of the thesis in the chapter “Goal-directed Imitation for Robots” considers imitation learning in cognitive and developmental robotics. The work presented here details the author’s progress in the development of hierarchical motion recognition and planning inspired by recent discoveries of the functions of mirror-neuron cortical circuits in primates. The overall architecture is capable of ‘learning for imitation’ and ‘learning by imitation’. The complete system includes a low-level real-time capable path planning subsystem for obstacle avoidance during arm reaching. The learning-based path planning subsystem is universal for all types of anthropomorphic robot arms, and is capable of knowledge transfer at the level of individual motor acts. Next, the problems of learning and synthesis of motor synergies, the spatial and spatio-temporal combinations of motor features in sequential multi-action behavior, and the problems of task-related action transitions are considered in the second part of the thesis “Kinematic Motion Synthesis for Computer Graphics and Robotics”. In this part, a new approach of modeling complex full-body human actions by mixtures of time-shift invariant motor primitives in presented. The online-capable full-body motion generation architecture based on dynamic movement primitives driving the time-shift invariant motor synergies was implemented as an online-reactive adaptive motion synthesis for computer graphics and robotics applications. The last chapter of the thesis entitled “Contraction Theory and Self-organized Scenarios in Computer Graphics and Robotics” is dedicated to optimal control strategies in multi-agent scenarios of large crowds of agents expressing highly nonlinear behaviors. This last part presents new mathematical tools for stability analysis and synthesis of multi-agent cooperative scenarios.In den letzten Jahrzehnten hat die Forschung in den Bereichen der Steuerung und Regelung komplexer Systeme erhebliche Fortschritte gemacht, insbesondere in den Bereichen Robotik und Computeranimation. Die Entwicklung solcher Systeme verwendet heutzutage neueste Methoden und Entwicklungen im Bereich des maschinellen Lernens und der künstlichen Intelligenz. Die flexible und echtzeitfähige Kombination von motorischen Verhaltensweisen ist eine wesentliche Herausforderung für die Generierung menschenähnlicher Animationen und in der humanoiden Robotik. In diesem Zusammenhang liefern biologisch motivierte Methoden zur Analyse und Resynthese menschlicher motorischer Programme neue Erkenntnisse und Modelle für die antizipatorische Bewegungssynthese. Diese Dissertation präsentiert die Ergebnisse der Arbeiten des Autors im Gebiet der kognitiven und Entwicklungsrobotik, kooperativer und humanoider Robotersysteme sowie intelligenter und maschineller Lernmethoden in der Computergrafik. Der erste Teil der Dissertation im Kapitel “Zielgerichtete Nachahmung für Roboter” behandelt das Imitationslernen in der kognitiven und Entwicklungsrobotik. Die vorgestellten Arbeiten beschreiben neue Methoden für die hierarchische Bewegungserkennung und -planung, die durch Erkenntnisse zur Funktion der kortikalen Spiegelneuronen-Schaltkreise bei Primaten inspiriert wurden. Die entwickelte Architektur ist in der Lage, ‘durch Imitation zu lernen’ und ‘zu lernen zu imitieren’. Das komplette entwickelte System enthält ein echtzeitfähiges Pfadplanungssubsystem zur Hindernisvermeidung während der Durchführung von Armbewegungen. Das lernbasierte Pfadplanungssubsystem ist universell und für alle Arten von anthropomorphen Roboterarmen in der Lage, Wissen auf der Ebene einzelner motorischer Handlungen zu übertragen. Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit “Kinematische Bewegungssynthese für Computergrafik und Robotik” werden die Probleme des Lernens und der Synthese motorischer Synergien, d.h. von räumlichen und räumlich-zeitlichen Kombinationen motorischer Bewegungselemente bei Bewegungssequenzen und bei aufgabenbezogenen Handlungs übergängen behandelt. Es wird ein neuer Ansatz zur Modellierung komplexer menschlicher Ganzkörperaktionen durch Mischungen von zeitverschiebungsinvarianten Motorprimitiven vorgestellt. Zudem wurde ein online-fähiger Synthesealgorithmus für Ganzköperbewegungen entwickelt, der auf dynamischen Bewegungsprimitiven basiert, die wiederum auf der Basis der gelernten verschiebungsinvarianten Primitive konstruiert werden. Dieser Algorithmus wurde für verschiedene Probleme der Bewegungssynthese für die Computergrafik- und Roboteranwendungen implementiert. Das letzte Kapitel der Dissertation mit dem Titel “Kontraktionstheorie und selbstorganisierte Szenarien in der Computergrafik und Robotik” widmet sich optimalen Kontrollstrategien in Multi-Agenten-Szenarien, wobei die Agenten durch eine hochgradig nichtlineare Kinematik gekennzeichnet sind. Dieser letzte Teil präsentiert neue mathematische Werkzeuge für die Stabilitätsanalyse und Synthese von kooperativen Multi-Agenten-Szenarien

Crowdsourcing for Engineering Design: Objective Evaluations and Subjective Preferences

Crowdsourcing enables designers to reach out to large numbers of people who may not have been previously considered when designing a new product, listen to their input by aggregating their preferences and evaluations over potential designs, aiming to improve ``good'' and catch ``bad'' design decisions during the early-stage design process. This approach puts human designers--be they industrial designers, engineers, marketers, or executives--at the forefront, with computational crowdsourcing systems on the backend to aggregate subjective preferences (e.g., which next-generation Brand A design best competes stylistically with next-generation Brand B designs?) or objective evaluations (e.g., which military vehicle design has the best situational awareness?). These crowdsourcing aggregation systems are built using probabilistic approaches that account for the irrationality of human behavior (i.e., violations of reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity), approximated by modern machine learning algorithms and optimization techniques as necessitated by the scale of data (millions of data points, hundreds of thousands of dimensions). This dissertation presents research findings suggesting the unsuitability of current off-the-shelf crowdsourcing aggregation algorithms for real engineering design tasks due to the sparsity of expertise in the crowd, and methods that mitigate this limitation by incorporating appropriate information for expertise prediction. Next, we introduce and interpret a number of new probabilistic models for crowdsourced design to provide large-scale preference prediction and full design space generation, building on statistical and machine learning techniques such as sampling methods, variational inference, and deep representation learning. Finally, we show how these models and algorithms can advance crowdsourcing systems by abstracting away the underlying appropriate yet unwieldy mathematics, to easier-to-use visual interfaces practical for engineering design companies and governmental agencies engaged in complex engineering systems design.PhDDesign ScienceUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/133438/1/aburnap_1.pd

Design and Dynamic Analysis of a Variable-Sweep, Variable-Span Morphing UAV

Morphing wings have the potential to optimize UAV performance for a variety of flight conditions and maneuvers. The ability to vary both the wing sweep and span can enable maximum performance for a diverse range of flight regimes. For example, low-speed missions can be optimized using a wing with high aspect ratio and no wing sweep whereas high-speed missions are optimized with low aspect ratio wings and large wing sweep. Different static morphing wing configurations clearly result in varying aerodynamics and, as a result, varying dynamic modes. Another important consideration, however, is the transient dynamics that occur when transitioning between morphing configurations, which is clearly a function of the rate of transition. For smaller-scale morphing UAVs, morphing transitions can take place on a time scale comparable to the dynamics of the vehicle, which implies that the transient dynamics must be taken into account when modeling the dynamics of such a vehicle. This thesis considers the dynamic effects of morphing for a variable-sweep, variable-span UAV. A scale model of such a morphing wing has been fabricated and tested in the low-speed wind tunnel at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The focus of this thesis is the development of a dynamic model for this morphing wing UAV that accounts for not only the varying dynamics resulting from different static morphing configurations, but also the transient dynamics associated with morphing. A Vortex Lattice Method (VLM) solver is used to model the aerodynamics of the morphing wing UAV over a two-dimensional array of static configurations corresponding to varying span and sweep. In this analysis, only symmetric morphing configurations are considered (i.e., in every configuration, both wings have the same span and sweep); therefore, the analysis focuses on the longitudinal dynamic modes (i.e., the long period and short period modes). The dynamic model of the morphing wing UAV is used to develop a simulation in which it is possible to specify different morphing configurations as well as varying rates of morphing transition. As such, the simulation provides an invaluable tool for analyzing the effects of wing morphing on the longitudinal flight dynamics of a morphing UAV

AERODYNAMICS AND ECOMORPHOLOGY OF FLEXIBLE FEATHERS AND MORPHING BIRD WINGS

Birds morph their wings during a single wingbeat, across flight speeds, and among flight modes. Such morphing may allow them to maximize aerodynamic performance, but this assumption remains largely untested. We tested the aerodynamic performance of swept and extended wing postures of 13 raptor species in three families (Accipitridae, Falconidae, and Strigidae) using a propeller model to emulate mid-downstroke of flapping during takeoff and a wind tunnel to emulate gliding. Based on previous research, we hypothesized that 1) during flapping, wing posture would not affect maximum ratios of vertical and horizontal force coefficients (CV:CH), and that 2) extended wings would have higher maximum CV:CH when gliding. Contrary to each hypothesis, during flapping, extended wings had, on average, 31% higher max CV:CH ratios and 23% higher CV than swept wings across all biologically relevant attack angles (α), and, during gliding, max CV:CH ratios were similar for both postures. Swept wings had 11% higher CV than extended wings in gliding flight, suggesting flow conditions around these flexed raptor wings may be different from those in previous studies of swifts (Apodidae). Phylogenetic affiliation was a poor predictor of wing performance, due in part to high intrafamilial variation. Mass was only significantly correlated with extended wing performance during gliding. We conclude wing shape has a greater effect on force per unit wing area during flapping at low advance ratio, such as take-off, than during gliding

EMPATH: A Neural Network that Categorizes Facial Expressions

There are two competing theories of facial expression recognition. Some researchers have suggested that it is an example of "categorical perception." In this view, expression categories are considered to be discrete entities with sharp boundaries, and discrimination of nearby pairs of expressive faces is enhanced near those boundaries. Other researchers, however, suggest that facial expression perception is more graded and that facial expressions are best thought of as points in a continuous, low-dimensional space, where, for instance, "surprise" expressions lie between "happiness" and "fear" expressions due to their perceptual similarity. In this article, we show that a simple yet biologically plausible neural network model, trained to classify facial expressions into six basic emotions, predicts data used to support both of these theories. Without any parameter tuning, the model matches a variety of psychological data on categorization, similarity, reaction times, discrimination, and recognition difficulty, both qualitatively and quantitatively. We thus explain many of the seemingly complex psychological phenomena related to facial expression perception as natural consequences of the tasks' implementations in the brain

Integrated multi-functional morphing aircraft technologies

In the past years, the development of morphing wing technologies has received a great deal of interest from the scientific community. These technologies potentially enable an increase in aircraft efficiency by changing the wing shape, thus allowing the aircraft to fly near its optimal performance point at different flight conditions. This thesis explores the development, analysis, building and integration of two new functional Variable-Span Wing (VSW) concepts to be applied in Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS). Additional studies are performed to synthesize the mass of such morphing concepts and to develop mass prediction models. The VSW concept is composed of one fixed rectangular inboard part, inboard fixed wing (IFW), and a moving rectangular outboard part: outboard moving wing (OMW). An aerodynamic shape optimization code is used to solve a drag minimization problem to determine the optimal values of wingspan for various speeds of the vehicle’s flight envelope. It was concluded that, at low speeds, the original wing has slightly better performance than the VSW and for speeds higher than 25 m/s the opposite occurs, due to the reduction in wing area and consequently the total wing drag. A structural Finite Element Model (FEM) of the VSW is developed, where the interface between wing parts is modelled. Deflections and stresses resulting from static aerodynamic loading conditions showed that the wing is suitable for flight. Flutter critical speed is studied. FEM is used to compute the VSW mode shapes and frequencies of free vibration, considering a rigid or the real flexible interface, showing that the effect of rigidity loss in the interface between the IFW and the OMW, has a negative impact on the critical flutter speed. A full-scale prototype is built using composite materials and an electro-mechanical actuation system is developed using a rack and pinion driven by two servomotors. Bench tests, performed to evaluate the wing and its actuation mechanism under load, showed that the system can perform the required extension/retraction cycles and is suitable to be installed on a RPAS airframe, which has been modified and instrumented to serve as test bed for evaluating the prototype in-flight. Two sets of flight tests are performed: aerodynamic and energy characterization. The former aims at determining the lift-to-drag ratio for different airspeeds and the latter to measure the propulsive and manoeuvring energy when performing a prescribed mission. In the aerodynamic testing, in-flight evaluation of the RPAS fitted with the VSW demonstrates full flight capability and shows improvements produced by the VSW over a conventional fixed wing for speeds above 19 m/s. At low speeds, the original wing has slightly better lift-to-drag ratio than the VSW. Contrarily, at 30 m/s, the VSW in minimum span configuration is 35% better than the original fixed wing. In the other performed test, it is concluded that the VSW fitted RPAS has less overall energy consumption despite the increased vehicle weight. The energy reduction occurs only in the high speed condition but it is so marked that it offsets the increase in energy during takeoff, climb and loiter phases. Following the work on the first VSW prototype, a new telescopic wing that allows the integration of other morphing strategies is developed, within the CHANGE EU project. The wing adopted span change, leading and trailing edge camber changes. A modular design philosophy, based on a wing-box like structure, is implemented, such that the individual systems can be separately developed and then integrated. The structure is sized for strength and stiffness using FEM, based on flight loads derived from the mission requirements. A partial span, fullsized cross-section prototype is built to validate the structural performance and the actuation mechanism capability and durability. The wing is built using composite materials and an electromechanical actuation system with an oil filled nylon rack and pinion is developed to actuate it. The structural static testing shows similar trends when compared with numerical predictions. The actuation mechanism is characterized in terms of actuation speed and specific energy consumption and it was concluded that it functioned within its designed specifications. A full-scale prototype is later built by the consortium and the leading and trailing edge concepts from the different partners integrated in a single wing. Wind tunnel tests confirmed that the wing can withstand the aerodynamic loading. Flight tests are performed by TEKEVER, showing that the modular concept works reliably. From the previous works, it is inferred that morphing concepts are promising and feasible methodologies but present an undesired mass increase due to their inherent complexity. On the other hand, mass prediction methods to aid the design of morphing wings at the conceptual design phase are rare. Therefore, a mass model of a VSW with a trailing edge device is proposed. The structural mass prediction is based on a parametric study. A minimum mass optimization problem with stiffness and strength constraints is implemented and solved, being the design variables structural thicknesses and widths, using a parametric FEM of the wing. The study is done for a conventional fixed wing and the VSW, which are then combined to ascertain the VSW mass increment, i.e., the mass penalization of the adopted morphing concept. Polynomials are found to produce good approximations of the wing mass. Additionally, the effects of various VSW design parameters in the structural mass are discussed. On one hand, it was found that the span and chord have the highest impact in the wing mass. On the other hand, the VSW to fixed wing ratio proved that the influence of span variation ratio in the wing mass is not trivial. It is found that the mass increase does not grow proportionally with span variation ratio increase and that for each combination of span and chord, exists a span variation ratio that minimizes the mass penalty. Using the VSW to fixed wing ratio function, the mass model is derived. To ascertain its accuracy, a case study is performed, which demonstrated prediction errors below 10%. Although the mass model results are encouraging, more case studies are necessary to prove its applicability over a wide range of VSWs. The work performed successfully demonstrated that VSW concepts can achieve considerable geometry changes which, in turn, translate into considerable aerodynamic gains, despite the increased weight. They influence all aspects of the wing design, from the structural side to the actuation mechanisms. The parametric study summarizes the mass penalties of such concepts, being successful at demonstrating that the mass penalty is not straightforward and that a careful selection of span, chord and variable-span ratio can minimize the mass increase.Nos últimos anos, o desenvolvimento de asas adaptativas tem sido alvo de um grande interesse por parte da comunidade científica. Nesta tese explora-se o desenvolvimento, análise, construção e integração de dois novos conceitos de Asas de Envergadura Variável (VSWs) funcionais a serem aplicados em Sistemas de Aeronaves Pilotadas Remotamente (RPASs). Estudos adicionais são levados a cabo para sintetizar a massa desses conceitos e desenvolver modelos de previsão de massa. O conceito da VSW é constituído por uma parte interna retangular fixa, Asa Fixa Interna (IFW), e por uma parte externa retangular móvel, Asa Móvel Externa (OMW). Um código de otimização aerodinâmica é utilizado para minimizar a resistência ao avanço, determinando os valores ótimos de envergadura para várias velocidades de voo do veículo. Concluiu-se que, a baixas velocidades, a asa original apresenta um desempenho ligeiramente melhor que a VSW, enquanto que a velocidades superiores a 25 m/s, a VSW apresenta um desempenho melhor devido à redução da área das asas e, consequentemente, à redução da resistência total das asas. Para levar a cabo um estudo estrutural, foi desenvolvido um Modelo de Elementos Finitos (FEM) estrutural da VSW, no qual se modelou a interface entre a IFW/OMW. As deflexões e tensões resultantes dos carregamentos aerodinâmicos estáticos mostraram que a asa é capaz de suportar as cargas em voo. A velocidade de flutter é também investigada, sendo o FEM utilizado para calcular as formas dos modos de vibração da VSW e respetivas frequências de vibração livre. Considerou-se uma interface colada ou flexível, confirmando-se que o efeito da perda de rigidez na interface IFW/OMW, tem um impacto negativo sobre a velocidade de flutter. Um protótipo da VSW é construído, utilizando materiais compósitos, e um sistema de atuação eletromecânico é desenvolvido usando um sistema de pinhão e cremalheira movido por dois servomotores. Os testes de bancada, realizados para avaliar a asa e o mecanismo de atuação, mostraram que o sistema é capaz de realizar a extensão/retração da asa, sendo adequado para ser instalado num RPAS. Este RPAS foi modificado e instrumentado para servir de banco de ensaio para avaliação do protótipo em voo. São realizados dois conjuntos de testes de voo: caracterização aerodinâmica e energética. O primeiro incide na determinação da razão de planeio para diferentes velocidades e o segundo é levado a cabo para determinar a energia propulsiva e de manobra ao executar uma missão típica. Nos testes aerodinâmicos ficou comprovado que o RPAS equipado com a VSW é capaz de uma normal operação e ainda que mostra melhorias sobre uma asa fixa convencional para velocidades acima de 19 m/s. A velocidades mais reduzidas, a asa original tem um desempenho ligeiramente melhor do que a VSW. Por outro lado, a 30 m/s, a VSW na configuração de envergadura mínima é 35% melhor do que a asa fixa original. No outro ensaio realizado, conclui-se que o RPAS de envergadura variável tem menos consumo de energia global, apesar do aumento de peso do veículo. A redução de energia ocorre apenas na fase de cruzeiro de alta velocidade, mas foi tão acentuada que compensou o aumento da energia durante as fases de descolagem, subida e espera. Na sequência do trabalho anterior e no âmbito do projeto europeu CHANGE, é desenvolvida uma nova VSW que permite a integração de outras estratégias adaptativas. A nova asa adotou a mudança de envergadura, e a mudança de curvatura nos bordos de ataque e de fuga. Esta adotou uma filosofia de projeto modular, baseada numa caixa de torção, permitindo o desenvolvimento das diferentes tecnologias adaptativas separadamente. A estrutura é divmensionada para resistência e rigidez usando FEM, com base em cargas de voo derivadas dos requisitos da missão. Um primeiro protótipo é construído para validar o desempenho estrutural e a funcionalidade do mecanismo de atuação. A asa é construída usando materiais compósitos e utiliza um sistema de pinhão e cremalheira e um servomotor, para variar a envergadura. Testes estruturais estáticos mostram que as deflexões corroboram as previsões numéricas. O mecanismo de atuação é caracterizado em termos de velocidade de atuação e consumo de energia específica, concluindo-se que funciona dentro do previsto. O segundo protótipo é construído pelo consórcio e os conceitos de bordo de ataque e de fuga são integrados. Testes em túnel de vento confirmaram que a asa suporta o carregamento aerodinâmico. Os testes de voo, realizados pela TEKEVER, mostram que o conceito modular funciona de forma fiável. Baseado nos trabalhos anteriores, conclui-se que os conceitos adaptativos são promissores e viáveis, mas apresentam um aumento de massa indesejável devido à sua inerente complexidade. Por outro lado, os métodos de previsão de massa para auxiliar o projeto de asas adaptativas na fase de projeto conceitual são raros. Deste modo, um modelo de massa da VSW com um dispositivo de borda de fuga é proposto. A previsão de massa estrutural é baseada num estudo paramétrico. Um problema de minimização de massa com constrangimentos de rigidez e resistência é implementado e resolvido, sendo as variáveis de projeto espessuras e larguras estruturais. Para o levar a cabo, um FEM paramétrico da VSW é desenvolvido. O estudo é feito para uma asa fixa convencional e para a VSW, os quais são combinados para determinar o incremento de massa da VSW. Aproximações polinomiais das massas da asa são produzidas, mostrando serem capazes de produzir uma adequada representação. Adicionalmente, são discutidos os efeitos dos vários parâmetros de design da VSW na massa estrutural. Por um lado, verificou-se que a envergadura e a corda têm o maior impacto na massa da asa. Por outro lado, a razão de massas da VSW e da asa fixa provou que a influência da razão de variação de envergadura na massa das asas não é trivial. Verifica-se que o aumento de massa não cresce proporcionalmente com o aumento da razão de variação de envergadura e que para um dado conjunto de envergadura e corda existe uma razão de variação de envergadura que minimiza o aumento de massa. O modelo de massa é derivado usando a aproximação polinomial da razão da VSW com a asa fixa. Para verificar a precisão do modelo, é realizado um caso de estudo que demonstrou erros de previsão abaixo dos 10%. Embora os resultados do modelo de massa sejam encorajadores, mais casos de estudo são necessários para provar a sua aplicabilidade a uma ampla gama de VSW. O trabalho realizado demonstrou com sucesso que os conceitos de VSW podem alcançar consideráveis mudanças de geometria, que se traduzem em ganhos aerodinâmicos consideráveis, apesar do aumento de peso. Estes influenciam todos os aspetos do projeto da asa, desde a parte estrutural até aos mecanismos de atuação. O estudo paramétrico tentou resumir a penalização de massa de tais conceitos, sendo bem sucedido em demonstrar que esta penalização não é simples e que uma seleção cuidadosa de envergadura, corda e razão de variação de envergadura pode minimizar o aumento de peso.This thesis and the associated research was partially funded by the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) under the Grant Agreement 314139

A Biomimetically Derived Method for Control of Span-Wise Morphing Wings

© 2022 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved. This is the accepted manuscript version of a conference paper which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2022-1986The development of novel morphing wings follows common milestones. This work presents the modelling and control of the recently proposed avian wing span-wise morphing concept. The concept primarily consists of three structural members heavily mimicking the skeletal structure birds employ for flight. This structure is actuated, through the range of motion achievable by avian, with the integration of pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs). Arranged in antagonistic pairs, the PAMs actuate an effective shoulder joint between the aircraft and wing through 90⁰. As well as two joints along the wing through 110⁰, allowing a span-wise reduction of 75% the fully extended span. This adaptive structure is capable of supporting several different aerofoil geometries for application specific aircraft. Initially proposed with a biomimetic derived wing profile more traditional and predictable NACA aerofoils have been applied. In this paper the avian wing span-wise morphing concept is modelled and with the application of inverse kinematics a control system is derived to allow simplified span-length positioning. Similarly, desired wing area is also presented as an input for the system. The model is based on PAM force models to individually model the pneumatic system driving each joint. The mechanical system of each joint is subsequently used to produce a direct kinematic model for wing tip position, and the inverse determined for control. The validity of both the model and system are experimentally tested on a fixed semi-span prototype rig of the morphing concept. Feedback is then introduced. Potentiometers are embedded into each joint to provide joint angle feedback. The tuning of the system is then presented for different dynamic responses. Alongside this development experiments have been conducted into the kinematics avian employ in flight and the flight dynamics they enable. These results are presented and directly applied as parameters for the proposed system. Span morphing retraction and extension rates determined from in vivo flight data of avian, including the Common buzzard (Buteo buteo) and Harris Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), are achieved using the avian wing span-wise morphing concept and the proposed control system. These dynamics are used to infer the parameters of an aircraft with the concept wing used as control surfaces