Category Archives: Research

Location scouting

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This weekend the weather was perfect! Dry but cool, slightly above freezing temperature, no wind, sunshine and crisp grass.

I feel ready for the first test with the wings! So I went out to check up on my three favorite locations in The Hague to see what possibilities I have to do the first trial runs. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, but thank god there is Google Earth.

Beach (Strand bij Duindorp)
Pros: unlimited space, soft fuzzy stuff to fall in, best with North or South wind, easy transport (parkinglot)
Cons: Too strong wind for my wings most of the day (would have to go realy early), sand might mess up the mechanical propulsion system.

Park Westbroek
Pros: grass, enough space for a little hop in the air, easy transport, best with North-North-West or South-South-East wind
Cons: water all around, trees, birds (how ironic that sounds!), dogpoo

Malieveld
Pros: dry grass, nice grip for shoes, best with South-West wind, easy transport
Cons: turbulence because of surrounding trees and forest on North East side, dogpoo, traffic (in case I succeed to take off

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Working on the wings

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So what are these wings all about, you might think?

In the latest videos you have seen me working on flightpins and the wingsurface for which I have sacrificed my Slingshot Fuel 17m2 kite for the membrane wingsurface. 

vleugeltekening

This  fabric weighs about 70 grams per square meter, so in total that will be around 1050 grams. It’s quite a challenge to work with this fabric. It’s strong, but at the same time very fragile. Especially because of the forces it has to cope with during the flights, it’s important to Continue reading →

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Combining WiiMote & HTC demovideo

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Together with my friend Orhan I was able to collect the acceleration data of the WiiMote and the Htc WildfireS. I promised to give a little demo of this. Here it is! So we combined the accelerometers. This will be needed to measure armspeed and control both outrunners in a way that they assist the flapping of the wings.

The previous post shows you a drawing of how all the elements together should work, flapping the wings! Check it here.

It has been on my youtube channel for a while. Sorry i’m late posting this on the blog. But some good work has been delivered this week. Which will feature in a fun video soon! (a little less geek…)

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Using Wii Controllers for my birdwings

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In my 3d sketches I was thinking about using only the acceleration sensors of HTC smartphones. I recently decided to also use Wii controllers, for their excellent I2C accelerometers and gyroscopes. Watch the picture below for an explanation about the components.
Backplate

In the meanwhile I’ve been able to connect the gyro and accelerometer of a Wii Motion plus and Nunchuck for the backplate. The Buspirat is my big friend :-)

Also managed to combine the acceleration data of the WiiMote and Wildfire S in one application. Tomorrow the video about this will be online! 

 

Twitter: @Jarnosmeets80 or #Humanbirdwings

 

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Materials, materials, materials….

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So.. two weeks ago I finished my 3D sketches. Well, sort of. I made some adjustments in the sketches after finding out that some parts weren’t available in the size I calculated in my design. Not a big problem, because its all about the weights of course. And my estimations in weights were all quite right. Continue reading →

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Sketches turned into a 3D visualisation

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In this short video I show the 3d visualisation of my Human Birdwings design. I have finished these sketches a while ago, but didn’t find a moment to share these with you.

The sketches are sort of complete, the only thing is that the tailwing is missing for now. I know the tail is important to have, but for now I’m fully focused on the lifting part of my suit.

Maybe you guys can think with me about the sort of tail that would be good to have on my design?!

Tell me through my website, twitter, facebook or youtube.

Thanks a lot!

 

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