Integrative Model of Drosophila Flight

This paper presents a framework for simulating the flight dynamics and control strategies of the fruit fly melanogaster. The framework consists of five main components: an articulated rigid-body simulation, a of the aerodynamic forces and moments, a sensory systems model, a control model, and an environment model. the rigid-body simulation the fly is represented by a system of three rigid bodies connected by a pair of actuated joints. At each instant of the simulation, the aerodynamic forces and moments acting on the wings and body of the are calculated using an empirically derived quasi-steady model. The pattern of wing kinematics is based on data from high-speed video sequences. The forces and moments produced by the wings are modulated by the base wing kinematics along certain characteristic actuation modes. Models of the fly’s visual and systems are used to generate inputs to a controller that sets the magnitude of each actuation mode, modulating the forces produced by the wings. This simulation framework provides a quantitative test bed for the possible control strategies employed by flying insects. Examples demonstrating pitch rate, velocity, , and flight speed control, as well as visually guided centering in a corridor are presented.