Animating bird flight using aerodynamics

This paper employs aerodynamic principles for the physical animation of bird flight. The wing of a bird is generated by varying aerofoil sections and overall geometrical parameters of the basic wing. The beating and other motions of the wings are specified as functions of time. The resulting trajectory of the bird is predicted by the aerodynamic and gravitational force distribution on the bird's wing. Targeting is achieved by controlling the pitching moment of the bird around its centre of gravity. Animation sequences comprising various flight phases are generated for verifying the performance of the system.