Development of the minimal biorobotic stealth distance and its role in optimizing direct-drive dragonfly-inspired aircraft design

Advancements in electronic technology and control algorithms have enabled precise flight control techniques, transforming bionic aircraft from principal imitation to comprehensive resemblance. This paper introduces the Minimal Biorobotic Stealth Distance (MBSD), a novel quantitative metric to evaluate the bionic resemblance of biorobotic aircraft. Current technological limitations prevent dragonfly-inspired aircraft from achieving optimal performance at biological scales. To address these challenges, we use the DDD-1 dragonfly-inspired aircraft, a hover-capable direct-drive aircraft, to explore the impact of the MBSD on aircraft design. Key contributions of this research include (1) the establishment of the MBSD as a quantifiable and operable evaluation metric that influences aircraft design, integrating seamlessly with the overall design process and providing a new dimension for optimizing bionic aircraft, balancing mechanical attributes and bionic characteristics; (2) the creation and analysis of a typical aircraft in the following directions: its coupling relationship with existing performance metrics (Longest Hover Duration and Maximum Instantaneous Forward Flight Speed), multi-objective optimization, and application in a typical mission scenario; (3) the construction and validation of a full-system model for the direct-drive dragonfly-inspired aircraft, demonstrating the design model's effectiveness against existing aircraft data. The findings highlight the MBSD's role in enhancing the operational capabilities of biorobotic aircraft and provide a systematic approach for optimizing design and performance in biomimetic aerial vehicles.