Using Motion Capture Camera Technology to Understand The Mechanics of Butterfly Flight at Varying Pressures

Butterflies were tested at various pressures to ascertain any useful data from the change of their flight mechanics. This research project is part of an ongoing series of research projects being conducted at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The ultimate goal is to create a drone that flies the same way butterflies do, which would have many applications for homeland security. In this project specifically, data was recorded with a motion capture camera system that could track markers on the butterfly and upload it to a 3D computer environment. The collected data was then analyzed to see the trends in various factors. The most important of which were the lift coefficient and the Reynolds number. The lift coefficient is a unitless number used to show how much lift the butterfly is generating, while the Reynolds number essentially quantifies the turbulence of the flight. The results show that the lift coefficient increased at lower pressures and the Reynolds number decreased at lower pressures. Since both increase the efficiency of the butterfly\u27s flight, future research projects investigating the change in a butterfly’s flight mechanics, due to the pressure difference, would benefit the design of the drone