Lightweight, Conformal Antennas for Robotic Flapping Flyers

Using wings on small flying robots for embedded antennas can provide a flexible and lightweight solution for communications from these platforms. The fabrication of ultra-lightweight, high-strength polyimide nanopaper fabric from which the wing is built is outlined. Such materials can be used to build multilayer, lightweight electronics in a variety of other situations. After outlining the fabrication of the nanopaper, designs for two different antenna-embedding techniques are presented. First, a simple embedded wire antenna is fabricated and measured, followed by a more-complex printed antenna design. Each process is outlined and trade-offs are presented. Both designs worked well, and can be adapted for use in other similar scenarios.