Student Spotlight on Donghyeon Lee: Flying Lessons: How Flies Teach UAVs to Land on Ceilings

Making drones land upside down as effortlessly as a fly is a thrilling challenge that has always captivated Donghyeon Lee. Flies and other insects routinely perform the remarkable feat of landing upside down on ceilings with ease. Observing these inverted landings, it becomes clear that these maneuvers are among nature's most sophisticated aerobatic feats. Understanding these behaviors better could have significant applications for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in navigating and landing in complex environments. This fascinating process inspired Donghyeon Lee to pursue a PhD program at Penn State, aiming to apply these natural techniques to UAV ceiling landings.

Flies make landing on ceilings look effortless, but in reality, it's a highly intricate maneuver. Their ability to swiftly adjust distances, speeds, and body positions—all in perfect harmony—is a natural skill, as illustrated initially by the research of Dr Lee’s former lab mate, Dr. Bryan Habas. However, replicating this with drones presents a significant technological challenge.

Lee and his team developed a custom simulation program tailored to their needs. With this simulation, they trained optimized landing strategies for various scenarios. They then applied these strategies to real drones and validated their effectiveness through experiments. He is now working on installing a camera on his vehicle and developing an onboard system that operates without the assistance of equipment other than the drone itself.

Flies also have special legs that let them stick to surfaces easily. To mimic this, Lee's team is working with design engineers to create new landing legs for drones.

Since drones need to be small and have minimal sensors to move like flies, Lee explains, 'We've designed our drones with a small camera that acts as the drone's eye. Unlike traditional designs that use two cameras, our system uses just one, making the drone lighter, more agile, and better at performing complex maneuvers in real-time.'

Donghyeon Lee’s project is a pioneering effort to bridge the gap between natural movements and robotic applications. By studying how flies perform their incredible ceiling landings, Lee and his team aim to replicate these maneuvers with UAVs. This research not only advances the field of robotics but also opens new possibilities for practical applications in various industries. Lee’s passion for understanding natural movements and applying them to robotics drives his commitment to this innovative project. Through their work, Lee and his team at Penn State are setting the stage for more efficient and adaptable UAV technology, inspired by the remarkable capabilities of nature.

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Donghyeon Lee is an INSECT NET Fellow and Ph.D. student advised by Professor Bo Cheng in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Penn State. His research is supported by the cross-directorate Foundational Research in Robotics program, jointly managed and funded by the Directorates for Engineering (ENG) and Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE).

This article was written by Kittiphum Pawikhhum, a Ph.D. student advised by Professor Paul Heinemann and Long He in the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department at Penn State. It was prepared as part of the INSECT NET Science Communication workshop series coordinated by Drs. Christina Grozinger and Natalie Boyle in summer 2024.