Context

Researchers working to artificially recreate the insect's hovering flight have yet to produce prototypes with vibrating wings capable of autonomous flight. The challenge is to reproduce the kinematics of insect wings using a robot, and to generate sufficient lift to enable it to take flight. The target is a wingspan of a few centimetres and a mass of a few tens of milligrams. This objective can be achieved using microfabrication technologies usually dedicated to the production of microsystems. The Insect Mimicking Flying Object (IMFO) will then be classified as a remote-controlled nanodrone capable of carrying a payload and carrying out reconnaissance missions in confined environments.

This problem requires the resolution of numerous scientific and technological challenges. To this end, a team made up of researchers from IEMN, ONERA, ENSAM and ENSIAME has been set...