This paper presents a novel protocol for vision based flight control of flapping wing micro aerial vehicles (FWMAV). The crux of the work intends to use real time video signals from an on-board camera to control the FWMAVs without using any electronic sensor modules and manual
remote control system. A unique control interface is framed for indoor surveillance tasks wherein the user will command the vehicle by providing set of vision information to activate certain flight movements. The control interface is programmed through MATLAB which offers user friendly graphical options to perform vision controlled tasks. Initial simulation is carried out to control the
FWMAVs through interfacing MATLAB and Proteus software. The simulation test includes controlling the flapping frequency, directivity of the FWMAV and also validating the vision based systems. In addition, the real time experimentation is performed to control the FWMAV through color based signalling. The obtained results accentuate the usefulness of the developed protocol in
controlling of FWMAVs with reprogrammable control interface and light-weight camera that with consequential positive impact on vehicle performance.
