A 26-Gram Butterfly-Inspired Robot Achieving Autonomous Tailless Flight

A 26-Gram Butterfly-Inspired Robot Achieving Autonomous Tailless Flight | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article A 26-Gram Butterfly-Inspired Robot Achieving Autonomous Tailless Flight Weibin Gu, Chenrui Feng, Lian Liu, Chen Yang, Xingchi Jiao, Yuhe Ding, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9083037/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The flight of biological butterflies represents a unique aerodynamic regime where high-amplitude, low-frequency wingstrokes induce significant body undulations and inertial fluctuations. While existing tailless flapping-wing micro air vehicles typically employ high-frequency kinematics to minimize such perturbations, the lepidopteran flight envelope remains a challenging and underexplored frontier for autonomous robotics. Here, we present AirPulse, a 26-gram butterfly-inspired robot that achieves the first onboard, closed-loop controlled flight for a tailless two-winged platform at this scale. It replicates key biomechanical traits of butterfly flight, utilizing low-aspect-ratio, compliant carbon-fiber-reinforced wings and low-frequency flapping that reproduces characteristic biological body undulations. Leveraging a quantitative mapping of control effectiveness, we introduce a hierarchical control architecture featuring state estimator, attitude controller, and central pattern generator with Stroke Timing Asymmetry Rhythm (STAR), which translates attitude control demands into smooth and stable wingstroke timing and angle-offset modulations. Free-flight experiments demonstrate stable climbing and directed turning maneuvers, proving that autonomous locomotion is achievable even within oscillatory dynamical regimes. By bridging biological morphology with a minimalist control architecture, AirPulse serves as both a hardware-validated model for decoding butterfly flight dynamics and a prototype for a new class of collision-resilient aerial robots. Its lightweight and compliant structure offers a non-invasive solution for a wide range of applications, such as ecological monitoring and confined-space inspection, where traditional drones may fall short. Physical sciences/Engineering/Electrical and electronic engineering Physical sciences/Engineering/Mechanical engineering Physical sciences/Engineering/Aerospace engineering Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files NatCommAirPulsesm.pdf Supplementary materials AirPulseSupplementaryVideos.zip Supplementary videos Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9083037","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":608762367,"identity":"92fad9f7-3881-4d22-9461-f29a9e17ec78","order_by":0,"name":"Weibin Gu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA2UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACxjaGBBDN3gBkN5CkhecAVAsbYT1QJRIJRGoxON7c9uDhDga7DTffGD74uYMhj1+egOsMzhxsN0g8w5C84XaOsWHvGYZiyTYCtpjdSGyTSGxjSDa4nWMmwdvGkLjhGCEt9x9Ctdw8Y/7zL1DLfoJabjCCtdgZ3OAxYwbbQsj79mcSgX4BhrPkmbRiaVmg9hnHEvBrkWw//uzhzzYGe77jhzd+fNtmk9jffICANRDwP7GBgcMAyJAgSjnEgcAU84B45aNgFIyCUTCiAACYIkgZ3N20yQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5083-9408","institution":"Tsinghua University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Weibin","middleName":"","lastName":"Gu","suffix":""},{"id":608762368,"identity":"64a07255-d1e9-4ba9-a871-56d2c4982bdb","order_by":1,"name":"Chenrui Feng","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tsinghua University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chenrui","middleName":"","lastName":"Feng","suffix":""},{"id":608762369,"identity":"32b0f35e-bb03-441d-bc56-ed5841160615","order_by":2,"name":"Lian Liu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tsinghua University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lian","middleName":"","lastName":"Liu","suffix":""},{"id":608762370,"identity":"f5ac752d-7a81-4e67-bec8-b32072b0d228","order_by":3,"name":"Chen Yang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tsinghua University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chen","middleName":"","lastName":"Yang","suffix":""},{"id":608762371,"identity":"1889c939-7745-4707-9e5c-02cdf274e647","order_by":4,"name":"Xingchi Jiao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tsinghua University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xingchi","middleName":"","lastName":"Jiao","suffix":""},{"id":608762372,"identity":"5b9c7d6a-cfe2-44eb-9880-657f0fdcee8c","order_by":5,"name":"Yuhe Ding","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tsinghua University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yuhe","middleName":"","lastName":"Ding","suffix":""},{"id":608762373,"identity":"223a687b-297a-465b-b12e-344c56bd251a","order_by":6,"name":"Xiaofei Shi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shantou University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiaofei","middleName":"","lastName":"Shi","suffix":""},{"id":608762374,"identity":"79f59a22-5ed5-4399-b838-36d0e74e3896","order_by":7,"name":"Chao Gao","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9585-0689","institution":"Tsinghua University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chao","middleName":"","lastName":"Gao","suffix":""},{"id":608762375,"identity":"99f6b847-9580-43b9-b392-e98e8b30b21a","order_by":8,"name":"Alessandro Rizzo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Polytechnic University of Turin","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Alessandro","middleName":"","lastName":"Rizzo","suffix":""},{"id":608762376,"identity":"94fe512a-7d26-4be3-a1a7-a38612008be0","order_by":9,"name":"Guyue Zhou","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tsinghua University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Guyue","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhou","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-10 11:12:27","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9083037/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9083037/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105035389,"identity":"d1ecb325-20a9-4087-a705-c6dbe2499ea3","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-20 07:25:59","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":4928522,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"NatCommAirPulse.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9083037/v1_covered_9b48f53d-8147-40a1-b2f2-3fd347da6f69.pdf"},{"id":105028053,"identity":"769d9231-4963-4c4c-a2f5-359c57a66215","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-20 05:42:02","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":5864560,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Supplementary materials","description":"","filename":"NatCommAirPulsesm.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9083037/v1/b9f571bcb21e2c00302377cc.pdf"},{"id":105028054,"identity":"e4b36648-8bb2-4adf-a7e1-e20726e64e79","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-20 05:42:02","extension":"zip","order_by":2,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":55582959,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Supplementary videos","description":"","filename":"AirPulseSupplementaryVideos.zip","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9083037/v1/eddf6a92fbede4407f939751.zip"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"A 26-Gram Butterfly-Inspired Robot Achieving Autonomous Tailless Flight","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-portfolio","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Nature Portfolio","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":false,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9083037/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9083037/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"The flight of biological butterflies represents a unique aerodynamic regime where high-amplitude, low-frequency wingstrokes induce significant body undulations and inertial fluctuations. While existing tailless flapping-wing micro air vehicles typically employ high-frequency kinematics to minimize such perturbations, the lepidopteran flight envelope remains a challenging and underexplored frontier for autonomous robotics. Here, we present AirPulse, a 26-gram butterfly-inspired robot that achieves the first onboard, closed-loop controlled flight for a tailless two-winged platform at this scale. It replicates key biomechanical traits of butterfly flight, utilizing low-aspect-ratio, compliant carbon-fiber-reinforced wings and low-frequency flapping that reproduces characteristic biological body undulations. Leveraging a quantitative mapping of control effectiveness, we introduce a hierarchical control architecture featuring state estimator, attitude controller, and central pattern generator with Stroke Timing Asymmetry Rhythm (STAR), which translates attitude control demands into smooth and stable wingstroke timing and angle-offset modulations. Free-flight experiments demonstrate stable climbing and directed turning maneuvers, proving that autonomous locomotion is achievable even within oscillatory dynamical regimes. By bridging biological morphology with a minimalist control architecture, AirPulse serves as both a hardware-validated model for decoding butterfly flight dynamics and a prototype for a new class of collision-resilient aerial robots. Its lightweight and compliant structure offers a non-invasive solution for a wide range of applications, such as ecological monitoring and confined-space inspection, where traditional drones may fall short.","manuscriptTitle":"A 26-Gram Butterfly-Inspired Robot Achieving Autonomous Tailless Flight","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-20 05:41:52","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9083037/v1","editorialEvents":[],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-communications","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"NCOMMS","sideBox":"Learn more about [Nature Communications](http://www.nature.com/ncomms/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://mts-ncomms.nature.com/","title":"Nature Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"Nature Communications","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"cab8e116-eb33-4cdb-aef3-a0a01cc58cfc","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 20th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"revise","date":"2026-05-07T11:56:55+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":64779293,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering/Electrical and electronic engineering"},{"id":64779294,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering/Mechanical engineering"},{"id":64779295,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering/Aerospace engineering"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-07T12:01:02+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-20 05:41:52","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9083037","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9083037","identity":"rs-9083037","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}