Introduction

Abstract

Natural flyers and swimmers such as birds, insects, and fish have fascinated us for centuries. There exists a substantial body of literature on animal locomotion. So far, the majority of the studies were published in biology-oriented journals. However, in recent years, the situation is rapidly changing as engineers and physical scientists have been enthusiastically learning from nature and implementing similar or improved concepts in human-made machines. With advances in miniaturization, first principles-based computational mechanics, precision instrumentation, materials sciences, and multidisciplinary approach, biomimetics is now an area of active research.