Virtual Insect Flight Simulator (VIFS): a Software Testbed for Insect Flight

This paper presents the design of software simulation VIFS for insect flight. In particular, it is intended to estimate flight control algorithms and performance for a Micromechanical Flying Insect (MFI), a 10-25 mm (wingtip-to-wingtip) device eventually capable of sustained autonomous flight. The VIFS is an end-to-end tool composed of several modular blocks which model the actuators dynamics, the wing aerodynamics, the body motion, the visual and inertial sensors, the environment perception, and control algorithms. A 3D virtual environment simulation is also developed as a visualization tool. We present the current state of art of its implementation and preliminary results.