A team of students from Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU) won a national first prize at the 12th National Undergraduate Mechanical Innovational Design Competition for a butterfly-inspired flapping-wing aircraft in July.

The competition received more than 5,700 entries from over 700 universities nationwide, with 210 projects advancing to the second stage of the national finals.

Under a designated challenge on biomimetic butterflies, teams were required to design and build a mechanical butterfly capable of actual flight. The HZAU team developed an aircraft inspired by butterfly flight, combining mechanical design, lightweight materials and embedded control technologies.

The aircraft uses a crank-and-rocker mechanism to drive its wings, which are made of carbon fiber and PET film with a graded-stiffness design. A lightweight STM32-based flight control system coordinates wing motion and flight attitude.

Tests showed the aircraft could perform autonomous takeoff and landing, turning maneuvers and butterfly-like wing movements.

The five-member student team was advised by faculty from HZAU's College of Engineering. They said the project integrated mechanical design, materials, embedded control, and aerodynamics, demanding close coordination during design, prototyping, and flight testing.

The faculty advisers and team members pose for a photo in front of the project display board. [Photo/news.hzau.edu.cn]

The butterfly-inspired aircraft is displayed with its wing structure and control components visible. [Photo/news.hzau.edu.cn]

The image shows the flight path of the butterfly-inspired aircraft. [Photo/news.hzau.edu.cn]