A Review of the Design, Development, and Application of Bio-inspired Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6919/ICJE.202601_12(1).0006Keywords:
Bionic UAV; Design Development; Application Review; Airframe Structure; Control Intelligence.Abstract
This paper reviews the research achievements in the design, development, and application of bio-inspired Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Through the collection and analysis of relevant domestic and foreign literature, the design progress of bionic UAVs in the two major areas of airframe structure and control intelligence is summarized, and several possible future research directions are proposed. Research indicates that bio-inspired design significantly enhances the environmental adaptability, stealth, and energy efficiency ratio of UAVs. Future research will focus on power source optimization for long-distance flight, obstacle avoidance at extremely close range, and multi-source information fusion and autonomous decision-making.
Downloads
References
[1] Lan, T. (2020). Research on biomimetic noise reduction of small rotor UAVs [Doctoral dissertation, National University of Defense Technology].
[2] Wei, Y. (2022). Research on biomimetic noise reduction of UAV rotors based on owl feather characteristics [Doctoral dissertation, University of Science and Technology of China].
[3] Chen, W. (2018). Experimental and numerical study on blade aerodynamic noise control based on bionic principles [Doctoral dissertation, Northwestern Polytechnical University].
[4] Su, X. (2022). Design and experimental study on bionic rotor noise reduction based on CFD [Doctoral dissertation, Nanchang Aviation University].
[5] Zhang, J., Chen, B., & Hua, X. (2015). Aerodynamic performance analysis of high-altitude long-endurance UAV wings based on gull-shaped wings. Journal of Applied Mechanics, 32(05), 805-809+897.
[6] Zhang, S., Xiang, T., & Zhang, H. (2025). Optimization design of biomimetic wings considering dynamic gliding performance. Journal of Xi'an Jiaotong University. Advance online publication.
[7] Bardera, R., Rodríguez-Sevillano, Á. A., Barroso, E., & Matías, J. C. (2023). Numerical analysis of a biomimetic UAV with variable length grids wingtips. Results in Engineering, 18, 101087.
[8] Dutta, P., Nagar, O. P., Sahu, S. K., Savale, R. R., & Raj, R. G. (2022). Aerodynamic analysis of bionic winglet- slotted wings. Materials Today: Proceedings, 62(Part 12), 6701-6707.
[9] Ma, H. (2021). Design and performance analysis of biomimetic multi-segment variable-sweep wing UAV [Doctoral dissertation, Northwestern Polytechnical University].
[10] Hao, Y. (2012). Exploration and research on variant wings based on bionics [Doctoral dissertation, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics].
[11] Li, H. (2022). Overall design and aerodynamic analysis of small biomimetic fixed-wing UAVs [Doctoral dissertation, Chengdu University of Technology].
[12] Wang, W., An, W., & Song, B. (2024). Effect of wing morphing on stability and energy harvesting in albatross dynamic soaring. Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, 37(11), 317-334.
[13] Liu, Y., Ma, X., Gong, X., et al. (2023). Bionic feather-controlled fixed-wing UAV flow stall wind tunnel experiment. Acta Aerodynamica Sinica, 41(10), 52-60.
[14] Chi, D. (2022). Design and performance study of biomimetic drag reduction and noise reduction structure of wing and blade based on eagle owl wing feathers [Doctoral dissertation, Jilin University].
[15] Zhang, Y., Zhang, X., Li, Y., Chang, M., & Xu, J. (2021). Aerodynamic performance of a low-Reynolds UAV with leading-edge protuberances inspired by humpback whale flippers. Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, 34(5), 415-424.
[16] Li, Y. (2023). Development and testing of agricultural biomimetic bird-repelling UAV [Doctoral dissertation, Shandong University of Technology].
[17] Bao, Y. (2019). Biomimetic design and aerodynamic characteristics analysis of cross-medium vehicle hydrodynamic shape combination [Doctoral dissertation, Jilin University].
[18] Lü, D., Su, H., Li, J., et al. (2022). Shape design and flight simulation of deformable bionic flying wing cross-medium UAV. Journal of Ordnance Equipment Engineering, 43(12), 59-66.
[19] Wang, B. (2019). Bionic folding tri-rotor cross-medium UAV dynamic modeling and motion control [Doctoral dissertation, National University of Defense Technology].
[20] Cui, Y. (2018). Design and dry flight motion control of a biomimetic folding tilting trirotor UAV [Doctoral dissertation, National University of Defense Technology].
[21] Chen, M. (2021). Design and kinematics of a biomimetic flapping-wing aircraft system [Doctoral dissertation, Jilin University].
[22] Lahoti, R., Gogulapati, A., & Gandhi, P. (2022). Design and Development of a Folding Mechanism for Bat-like Bioinspired Wing. *IFAC-PapersOnLine, 55*(22), 400-405.
[23] Saravanan, P., Madhanraj, V., Shankaralingam, L., Dhanush, R., Vargheese, V., & Gupta, M. S. (2023). Static structural and aerodynamics analysis of 3D printed flapping wing mechanism of butterfly inspired ornithopter. Materials Today: Proceedings.
[24] Mohamed, M. A., Maksoud, T., Santos, R. J., Salim, M. H., & Esmail, M. F. (2021). Numerical simulation of the aerodynamic performance of a novel micro-aerial vehicle mimicking a locust. Ain Shams Engineering Journal, 12(3), 2935-2945.
[25] Sun, J., Du, R., Liu, X., Bechkoum, K., Tong, J., & Chen, D. (2017). A Simulation of the Flight Characteristics of the Deployable Hindwings of Beetle. Journal of Bionic Engineering, 14(2), 296-306.
[26] Sifour, O., Berkane, S., & Tayebi, A. (2023). Modeling of Four-Winged Micro Ornithopters Inspired by Dragonflies. *IFAC-PapersOnLine, 56*(2), 10752-10759.
[27] Pfeiffer, A. T., Lee, J.-S., Han, J.-H., & Baier, H. (2010). Ornithopter Flight Simulation Based on Flexible Multi-Body Dynamics. Journal of Bionic Engineering, 7(1), 102-111.
[28] Li, X. (2018). Aerodynamic analysis of flexible wings and tail of multi-segment bionic flapping wing aircraft [Doctoral dissertation, Civil Aviation University of China].
[29] Chen, D., Geng, J., Zhang, W., et al. (2020). Dynamic modeling and simulation of a tailless flapping-wing UAV. Computer Measurement & Control, 28(06), 202-206.
[30] Kan, Z., Yao, Z., Li, D., Bie, D., Wang, Z., Li, H., & Xiang, J. (2023). Design and flight test of the fixed-flapping hybrid morphing wing aerial vehicle. Aerospace Science and Technology, 143, 108705.
[31] Mannam, N. P. B., Alam, M. M., & Krishnankutty, P. (2020). Review of biomimetic flexible flapping foil propulsion systems on different planetary bodies. Results in Engineering, 8, 100183.
[32] Guo, Q. (2022). Structural characteristics analysis of UAV landing gear based on bionic design [Doctoral dissertation, Shaanxi University of Technology].
[33] Huang, G., Luo, S., & Yu, J. (2019). Dynamic simulation and optimization of aerodynamic tendon ejection system for small unmanned aerial vehicles. China Mechanical Engineering, 30(04), 448-454.
[34] Ren, J., Wang, J., Yang, Z., et al. (2023). Design and simulation of multi-link bionic landing gear based on multi-rotor UAV. Aeronautical Science and Technology, 34(06), 77-85.
[35] Zhou, L., Yin, Q., Wei, X., et al. (2024). Adaptive landing performance analysis of biomimetic quadruped hexacopter UAV. Progress in Aeronautical Engineering, 15(03), 45-51+70.
[36] Wang, H. (2022). Research on bat-like autonomous flight and terrier robot [Doctoral dissertation, Chongqing University].
[37] Chang, M., Sun, Y., & Bai, J. (2019). Flight principle and technological progress of vertically roosting micro unmanned aerial vehicles. Unmanned Systems Technology, 2(02), 22-31.
[38] Jiang, J. (2020). Design of biomimetic wall-mounted automatic take-off and landing system for unmanned aerial vehicles [Doctoral dissertation, Guangdong University of Technology].
[39] Zhao, R., Li, X., & Chen, J. (2023). Eagle-inspired manipulator with adaptive grasping and collapsible mechanism and modular DOF for UAV operations. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 215, 108344.
[40] Xu, Y., Guo, S., & Wei, X. (2024). Steady-state habitat modeling and grasping leg design of raptor-inspired UAV. Journal of Shanghai University (Natural Science Edition), 30(04), 704-720.
[41] Liu, J., Liu, F., & Zhu, B. (2024). Design of biomimetic habitat robotic arm for rotary-wing UAV. Forest Engineering, 40(04), 150-159.
[42] Zhao, J., Yan, S., Deng, L., Huang, H., & Liu, Y. (2017). Design and Analysis of Biomimetic Nose Cone for Morphing of Aerospace Vehicle. Journal of Bionic Engineering, 14(2), 317-326.
[43] Fei, Y. (2019). Research on visual inertial odometry and flight control of UAV based on swan [Doctoral dissertation, Harbin Institute of Technology].
[44] Schenato, L., Deng, X., & Sastry, S. (2002). HOVERING FLIGHT FOR A MICROMECHANICAL FLYING INSECT: MODELING AND ROBUST CONTROL SYNTHESIS. IFAC Proceedings Volumes, 35(1), 235-240.
[45] Hyun, N. P., McGill, R., Wood, R. J., & Kuindersma, S. (2021). A new control framework for flapping-wing vehicles based on 3D pendulum dynamics. Automatica, 123, 109293.
[46] Wei, Y. (2020). Research on attitude optimization algorithm of UAV based on biomimetic polarized light [Doctoral dissertation, Dalian University of Technology].
[47] Fan, L. (2020). Multi-UAV cooperative formation based on pigeon flock algorithm [Doctoral dissertation, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics].
[48] Yu, C. (2025). A swarm adversarial decision-making model and simulation based on pigeon flock intelligence mechanism for UAVs [Doctoral dissertation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China].
[49] Liu, H., Yuan, Y., Duan, H., et al. (2025). UAV swarm capture control based on variable weight improved pigeon flock optimization. Robot, 47(03), 438-447.
[50] Wei, Y., & Zhang, X. (2025). Hawk-rabbit game architecture for unmanned aerial vehicle swarm multi-target defense under uncertain attack targets. Aerospace Science and Technology, 164, 110379.
[51] Xie, Y., Han, L., Dong, X., Li, Q., & Ren, Z. (2021). Bio-inspired adaptive formation tracking control for swarm systems with application to UAV swarm systems. Neurocomputing, 453, 272-285.
[52] Ran, W., Nantogma, S., Zhang, S., & Xu, Y. (2025). Bio-inspired UAV swarm operation approach towards decentralized aerial electronic defense. Applied Soft Computing, 177, 113136.
[53] Zeng, Z., Dong, C., Zhu, X., et al. (2022). A biomimetic UAV swarm architecture for rapid swarm fusion. Telecommunications Science, 38(08), 17-27.
[54] Ma, Z., Si, S., & Chen, Z. (2024). A cooperative control algorithm for UAV swarm inspired by bird flock behavior. In *Proceedings of the 6th Conference on Systems Engineering---Systems Engineering and High-Quality Development* (pp. 483-494). National University of Defense Technology.
[55] Wang, Y. (2021). Autonomous formation flight formation design and implementation of large bionic flapping-wing flying robot [Doctoral dissertation, Harbin Institute of Technology].
[56] Liu, Z. (2024). Kinematic modeling and simulation of biomimetic flapping-wing aircraft swarm [Doctoral dissertation, Shenyang University of Technology].
[57] Yan, B. (2021). Research on UAV swarm cooperative tracking strategy based on biomimetic model [Doctoral dissertation, Xi'an University of Technology].
[58] Duan, H., Xin, L., & Deng, Y. (2021). Research progress on navigation technology based on imitation of homing pigeon behavior. Journal of Intelligent Systems, 16(01), 1-10.
[59] Wen, Q., Ren, X., Ma, R., et al. (2023). Research on path planning based on improved biomimetic intelligent algorithm. In Proceedings of the 7th National Conference on Swarm Intelligence and Cooperative Control (pp. 123-128). China Command and Control Society.
[60] Zhou, X. (2023). Optimization algorithm based on dynamic bionic mechanism and its application in UAV [Doctoral dissertation, Yanshan University].
[61] Hu, T. (2019). Research on three-dimensional reconnaissance trajectory planning of small UAV based on bionic algorithm [Doctoral dissertation, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications].
[62] Qian, Z. (2019). Research on adaptive trajectory planning and flight control of quadcopter UAV [Doctoral dissertation, Shanghai Jiaotong University].
[63] Xiang, Y. (2023). Design and simulation of biomimetic intelligent algorithm for group adversarial [Doctoral dissertation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China].
[64] Zhao, Z., Li, L., Zhang, Y., et al. (2024). Adaptive trajectory planning algorithm for UAV three-dimensional trajectory for inspection tasks. Guangxi Science, 31(05), 1025-1037.
[65] Di, X. (2022). Research on UAV navigation and UAV array beamforming based on biomimetic algorithm [Doctoral dissertation, Xi'an University of Electronic Science and Technology].
[66] Zhong, H., Du, Y., Liu, D., Wang, M., Cong, M., & Tian, X. (2025). A fruit fly-inspired path planning algorithm for unmanned aerial vehicle in underground environments based on low-discrepancy sequences. Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, 156(Part B), 111250.
[67] Zhu, Y. (2023). Research on UAV proximity detection based on biomimetic vision [Doctoral dissertation, Guangxi University].
[68] Wu, C. (2023). Research on UAV power transmission line inspection and obstacle avoidance based on biomimetic vision [Doctoral dissertation, Guangxi University].
[69] Xie, Q. (2024). Research on obstacle avoidance of power line inspection UAV based on bionic vision [Doctoral dissertation, Guangxi University].
[70] Li, H., Luo, J., Xie, S., et al. (2008). A new method for fixed-point landing of ultra-small unmanned rotorcraft based on the principle of bionic eye anisotropic motion. High Technology Communications, 18(10), 1047-1052.
[71] Chang, Y. (2021). Research on biomimetic linkage perception and tracking control method of dual UAVs [Doctoral dissertation, National University of Defense Technology].
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 International Core Journal of Engineering

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.




