Photo of Bo Cheng

Bo Cheng

Kenneth K. and Olivia J. Kuo Early Career Professor
Associate Professor

Affiliation(s):

  • Mechanical Engineering

228 Reber Building

buc10@psu.edu

814-867-5963

Personal or Departmental Website

Research Areas:

Biomechanics and Mechanobiology; Mechanical Sciences; Sensors & Controls

Interest Areas:

Principles of animal locomotion; biologically inspired robotics; experimental fluid dynamics; control.

 
 

 

Education

  • BS, Control Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, 2006
  • MS, Mechanical Engineering, University of Delaware, 2009
  • Ph D, Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, 2012

Publications

Journal Articles

  • Long Chen, Chao Zhou, Nathaniel Werner, Bo Cheng and Jianghao Wu, 2023, "Dual-stage radial–tangential vortex tilting reverses radial vorticity and contributes to leading-edge vortex stability on revolving wings", Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 963
  • Suyash Agrawal, Bret W Tobalske, Zafar Anwar, Haoxiang Luo, Tyson L Hedrick and Bo Cheng, 2022, "Musculoskeletal wing-actuation model of hummingbirds predicts diverse effects of primary flight muscles in hovering flight", Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 289, (1988)
  • Wael Salem, Benjamin Cellini, Heiko Kabutz, Hari Krishna Hari Prasad, Bo Cheng, Kaushik Jayaram and Jean-Michel Mongeau, 2022, "Flies trade off stability and performance via adaptive compensation to wing damage", Science Advances, 8, (46)
  • Long Chen, Luyao Wang, Chao Zhou, Jianghao Wu and Bo Cheng, 2022, "Effects of Reynolds number on leading-edge vortex formation dynamics and stability in revolving wings", Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 931
  • Yagiz Bayiz and Bo Cheng, 2021, "State-space aerodynamic model reveals high force control authority and predictability in flapping flight", Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 18, (181)
  • Shih-Jung Hsu and Bo Cheng, 2020, "Retinal slip compensation of pitch-constrained blue bottle flies flying in a flight mill", Journal of Experimental Biology, 233, (11)
  • Chengyu Li, Haibo Dong and Bo Cheng, 2020, "Tip Vortices Formation and Evolution of Rotating Wings at Low Reynolds Numbers", Physics of Fluids
  • Long Chen, Jianghao Wu and Bo Cheng, 2020, "Leading-edge vortex formation and transient lift generation on a revolving wing at low Reynolds number", Aerospace Science and Technology
  • Haijie Zhang, Elisha Lerner, Bo Cheng and Jianguo Zhao, 2020, "Compliant Bistable Grippers Enable Passive Perching for Micro Aerial Vehicles", IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics
  • Nathaniel H Werner, Junshi Wang, Haibo Dong, Azar Eslam Panah and Bo Cheng, 2020, "Scaling the vorticity dynamics in the leading-edge vortices of revolving wings with two directional length scales", Physics of Fluids, 32, (12), pp. 121903
  • Pan Liu, Sanjay Sane, Jean-Michel Mongeau, Jianguo Zhao and Bo Cheng, 2019, "Flies land upside down on a ceiling using rapid visually mediated rotational maneuvers", Science Advances
  • Nathaniel Werner, Hojae Chung, Junshi Wang, John M Cimbala, Haibo Dong and Bo Cheng, 2019, "Radial planetary vorticity tilting in the leading-edge vortex of revolving wings", Physics of Fluids, 31, (4), pp. 041902
  • Shih-Jung Hsu, Neel Thakur and Bo Cheng, 2019, "Speed control and force-vectoring of blue bottle flies in a magnetically levitated flight mill", Journal of Experimental Biology
  • Yixi Shan, Yagiz Bayiz and Bo Cheng, 2019, "Efficient thrust generation in fish caudal fins using policy search", The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Cyber-Systems and Robotics
  • Long Chen, Jianghao Wu and Bo Cheng, 2019, "Volumetric measurement and vorticity dynamics of leading-edge vortex formation on a revolving wing", Experiments in Fluids
  • Haijie Zhang, Bo Cheng and Jianguo Zhao, 2018, "Optimal trajectory generation for time-to-contact based aerial robotic perching", Bioinspiration & Biomimetics
  • Yi Wang, Bret W. Tobalske, Bo Cheng and Xinyan Deng, 2018, "Gravitation-enabled forward acceleration during flap-bounding flight in birds", Journal of Bionic Engineering, 15, (3)
  • Long Chen, Jianghao Wu, Chao Zhou, Shih-Jung Hsu and Bo Cheng, 2018, "Unsteady aerodynamics of a pitching-flapping-perturbed revolving wing at low Reynolds number", Physics of Fluids, 30, (5)
  • Yagiz Efe Bayiz, Mohammad Ghanaatpishe, Hosam Fathy and Bo Cheng, 2018, "Hovering efficiency comparison of rotary and flapping flight for rigid and rectangular wings via dimensionless multi-objective optimization", Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 13, (4)
  • Jianghao Wu, Long Chen, Chao Zhou, Shih-Jung Hsu and Bo Cheng, 2018, "Aerodynamics of a flapping-perturbed revolving wing", Anerican Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Journal
  • Pan Liu and Bo Cheng, 2017, "Limitations of rotational manoeuvrability in insects and hummingbirds: Evaluating the effects of neuro-biomechanical delays and muscle mechanical power", Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 14, (132), pp. 20170068
  • Bo Cheng, Bret W Tobalske, Donald R Powers, Tyson L Hedrick, Yi Wang, Susan M Wethington, George T-C Chiu and Xinyan Deng, 2016, "Flight mechanics and control of escape maneuvers in hummingbirds. II. Aerodynamic force production, flight control and performance limitations", Journal of Experimental Biology, 219, (22), pp. 3532–3543
  • Bo Cheng, Bret W Tobalske, Donald R Powers, Tyson L Hedrick, Susan M Wethington, George TC Chiu and Xinyan Deng, 2016, "Flight mechanics and control of escape maneuvers in hummingbirds. I. Flight kinematics", Journal of Experimental Biology, 219, (22), pp. 3518–3531
  • Jian Zhang, Bo Cheng and Xinyan Deng, 2016, "Instantaneous wing kinematics tracking and force control of a high-frequency flapping wing insect MAV", Journal of Micro-Bio Robotics, pp. 1-18
  • Yun Liu, Bo Cheng, Sane Sanjay and Xinyan Deng, 2015, "Aerodynamics of dynamic wing flexion in translating wings", Experiments in Fluids, 56, (6), pp. 1-15
  • Jesse Roll, Bo Cheng and Xinyan Deng, 2015, "An electromagnetic actuator for high-frequency flapping-wing micro air vehicles", Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Transactions on Robotics, 31, (2), pp. 400-414
  • Bo Cheng, Jesse Roll, Yun Liu, Daniel R Troolin and Xinyan Deng, 2014, "Three-dimensional vortex wake structure of flapping wings in hovering flight", Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 11, (91), pp. 20130984
  • Yun Liu, Bo Cheng and Xinyan Deng, 2013, "An application of smoke-wire visualization on a hovering insect wing", Journal of Visualization, 16, (3), pp. 185–187
  • Bo Cheng, Sanjay P Sane, Giovanni Barbera, Daniel R Troolin, Tyson Strand and Xinyan Deng, 2013, "Three-dimensional flow visualization and vorticity dynamics in revolving wings", Experiments in fluids, 54, (1), pp. 1–12
  • Yun Liu, Bo Cheng, Giovanni Barbera, Daniel R Troolin and Xinyan Deng, 2013, "Volumetric visualization of the near-and far-field wake in flapping wings", Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 8, (3), pp. 036010
  • Bo Cheng and Xinyan Deng, 2012, "A neural adaptive controller in flapping flight", Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, 24, (4), pp. 602
  • Bo Cheng, Xinyan Deng and Tyson L Hedrick, 2011, "The mechanics and control of pitching maneuvers in a freely flying hawkmoth (Manduca sexta)", The Journal of Experimental Biology, 214, (24), pp. 4092–4106
  • Bo Cheng and Xinyan Deng, 2011, "Translational and rotational damping of flapping flight and its dynamics and stability at hovering", Robotics, IEEE Transactions on, 27, pp. 849-864
  • Bo Cheng, Steven Fry, Qinfeng Huang and Xinyan Deng, 2010, "Aerodynamic damping during rapid flight maneuvers in the fruit fly Drosophila", Journal of Experimental Biology, 213, (4), pp. 602-612
  • Tyson L Hedrick, Bo Cheng and Xinyan Deng, 2009, "Wingbeat time and the scaling of passive rotational damping in flapping flight", Science, 324, (5924), pp. 252–255

Conference Proceedings

  • Donghao Li, Hankun Deng, Yagiz E Bayiz and Bo Cheng, 2022, "Effects of Design and Hydrodynamic Parameters on Optimized Swimming for Simulated, Fish-inspired Robots", 2022 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), IEEE, pp. 7500-7506
  • Bryan Habas, Bader AlAttar, Brian Davis, Jack W Langelaan and Bo Cheng, 2022, "Optimal Inverted Landing in a Small Aerial Robot with Varied Approach Velocities and Landing Gear Designs", International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2022), Philadelphia, PA, USA
  • Hankun Deng, Patrick Burke, Donghao Li and Bo Cheng, 2021, "Design and Experimental Learning of Swimming Gaits for a Magnetic, Modular, Undulatory Robot", pp. 9562-9568
  • Pan Liu, Junyi Geng, Yixian Li, Yanran Cao, Yagiz E Bayiz, Jack W Langelaan and Bo Cheng, 2020, "Bio-inspired Inverted Landing Strategy in a Small Aerial Robot Using Policy Gradient", pp. 7772--7777
  • Yagiz Bayiz, Shih-Jung Hsu, Aaron Aguiles, Yano Shade-Alexander and Bo Cheng, 2019, "Experimental learning of a lift-maximizing central pattern generator for a flapping robotic wing", IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, (ICRA 2019)
  • Mohammad Ghanaatpishe, Yagiz E. Bayiz, Bo Cheng and Hosam Kadry Fathy, 2018, "Rotary vs. flapping flight: An application study for optimal periodic control theory", 2018 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control
  • Yagiz Efe Bayiz, Long Chen, Shih-Jung Hsu, Pan Liu and Bo Cheng, 2018, "Real-time learning of efficient lift generation on a dynamically scaled flapping wing using policy search", IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, (ICRA 2018), pp. 5519-5525
  • Chengyu Li, Haibo Dong and Bo Cheng, 2017, "Effects of aspect ratio and angle of attack on tip vortex structures and aerodynamic performance for rotating flat plates", 47th AIAA Fluid Dynamics Conference, AIAA AVIATION Forum, pp. 3645
  • Haijie Zhang, Bo Cheng and Jianguo Zhao, 2017, "Extended Tau theory for robot motion control", IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, (ICRA 2017), pp. 5321-5326
  • Shih-Jung Hsu, Yagiz Efe Bayiz, Pan Liu and Bo Cheng, 2016, "An insect tether system using magnetic levitation: development, analysis and feedback control", Proceedings of the ASME 2016 Dynamic Systems and Control Conference (DSCC'16)
  • Jian Zhang, Bo Cheng, Xinyan Deng and Bin Yao, 2015, "Adaptive robust wing trajectory control and force generation of flapping wing MAV", 2015 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Seattle, Washington, USA, May 26-30, 2015, pp. 5852-5857
  • Yi Qin, Bo Cheng and Xinyan Deng, 2014, "Trajectory optimization of flapping wings modeled as a three degree-of-freedoms oscillation system", 2014 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2014), Chicago, IL, USA, September 14-18, 2014, pp. 3193-3200
  • Yun Liu, Bo Cheng and Xinyan Deng, 2013, "An experimental study of dynamic trailing edge deflections on a two-dimensional translating wing", Fluid Dynamics and Co-located Conferences, 31st AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference, San Diego, CA, USA, June 24-27, 2013
  • Jesse A Roll, Bo Cheng and Xinyan Deng, 2013, "Design, fabrication, and experiments of an electromagnetic actuator for flapping wing micro air vehicles", 2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Karlsruhe, Germany, May 6-10, 2013, pp. 809–815
  • Jian Zhang, Bo Cheng, Jesse A Roll, Xinyan Deng and Bin Yao, 2013, "Direct drive of flapping wings under resonance with instantaneous wing trajectory control", 2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Karlsruhe, Germany, May 6-10, 2013, pp. 4029–4034
  • Bo Cheng, Jesse A Roll and Xinyan Deng, 2013, "Modeling and optimization of an electromagnetic actuator for flapping wing micro air vehicle", 2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Karlsruhe, Germany, May 6-10, 2013, pp. 4035–4041
  • Perry Parks, Bo Cheng, Zheng Hu and Xinyan Deng, 2011, "Translational damping on flapping cicada wings", 2011 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, San Francisco, CA, USA, September 25-30, 2011, pp. 574–579
  • Zheng Hu, Bo Cheng and Xinyan Deng, 2011, "Lift generation and flow measurements of a robotic insect", 49th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition, Orlando, Florida, USA, January 4 - 7, 2011
  • Bo Cheng and X Deng, 2010, "Mathematical modeling of near-hover insect flight dynamics", Proceedings of the ASME 2010 Dynamic Systems and Control Conference DSCC2010, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, September 12-15, 2010, 1, pp. 197-206
  • Bo Cheng and Xinyan Deng, 2010, "Near-hover dynamics and attitude stabilization of an insect model", 2010 American Control Conference Marriott Waterfront, Baltimore, MD, USA, June 30-July 02, 2010, pp. 39–44
  • Bo Cheng, S. N. Fry, Q Huang, W. B. Dickson, M. H. Dickinson and X. Deng, 2009, "Turning dynamics and passive damping in flapping flight", 2009 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation Kobe International Conference Center Kobe, Japan, May 12-17, 2009, pp. 1889–1896

Abstracts

  • Shih-Jung Hsu, Elizabeth Seber, Ciera McFarland and Bo Cheng, 2019, "Visual speed control in pitch-constrained blue bottle flies in a motorized magnetically-levitated flight mill", Proceeding of the Annual Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB'19), Tampa, FL, January, 2019
  • Shih-Jung Hsu, Junshi Wang, Haibo Dong and Bo Cheng, 2019, "Effects of wing flexibility on the aerodynamic performance of blue bottle flies flying in a magnetic-levitated flight mill", Proceeding of the Annual Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB'19), Tampa, FL, January, 2019
  • Hankun Deng, Bo Cheng and Azar Eslam-Panah, 2019, "Fluid dynamics of a plunging wing in presence of Karman vortex street shedding", DFD20 Meeting of The American Physical Society
  • Long Chen, Jianghao Wu and Bo Cheng, 2018, "Vorticity dynamics and transient force generation during the leading-edge vortex formation on a revolving wing at low Reynolds number", DFD18 Meeting of The American Physical Society
  • Chao Zhou, Long Chen, Jianghao Wu and Bo Cheng, 2018, "Effects of timing and magnitude of wing stroke-plane tilt on the maneuverability of flapping flight", DFD18 Meeting of The American Physical Society
  • Yagiz Bayiz, Long Chen, Yano Shade-Alexander, Aaron Aguiles, Jianghao Wu and Bo Cheng, 2018, "Efficiency optimization and three-dimensional flow visualization of flapping flight", DFD18 Meeting of The American Physical Society
  • Daniel Yeung, Xingyu Wang, Shih-Jung Hsu, Pan Liu and Bo Cheng, 2017, "Flight mechanics of landing maneuvers in bluebottle flies", Proceeding of the Annual Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB'17), New Orleans, LA, January, 2017
  • Neel Thakur, Shih-Jung Hsu and Bo Cheng, 2017, "Kinematics and aerodynamics of forward flight in bluebottle flies: Experiments using a magnetic flight mill", Proceeding of the Annual Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB'17), New Orleans, LA, January, 2017

Other

Research Projects

Honors and Awards

Service

Service to Penn State:

Service to External Organizations:

 


 

About

With more than 60 faculty members, 330 graduate students, and 1,000 undergraduate students, the Penn State Department of Mechanical Engineering embraces a culture that welcomes individuals with a diversity of backgrounds and expertise. Our faculty and students are innovating today what will impact tomorrow’s solutions to meeting our energy needs, homeland security, biomedical devices, and transportation systems. We offer B.S. degrees in mechanical engineering as well as resident (M.S., Ph.D.) and online (M.S.) graduate degrees in mechanical engineering. See how we’re inspiring change and impacting tomorrow at me.psu.edu.

Department of Mechanical Engineering

137 Reber Building

The Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA 16802-4400

Phone: 814-865-2519