Deployable wings for an aircraft

An apparatus for deploying wings of an aircraft, comprising:

• a spherical four-bar mechanism comprising:
• a first member;
• a second member rotatably connected to the first member;
• a third member rotatably connected to the first member;
• and
• a fourth member pivotally connected to both the second member and the third member;
• a first wing operatively connected to the second member at a first point;
• a second wing operatively connected to the third member at a second point;
• a deployment actuator operatively connected to the fourth member of the spherical four-bar mechanism;
• wherein the deployment actuator moves the fourth member of the spherical four-bar mechanism according to a nonlinear motion profile, in turn rotating the second member and the third member of the spherical four-bar mechanism, thereby rotating the first wing and the second wing into a deployed position whereby the first point and the second point meet at a mating profile;
• and
• a hinge flap, wherein rotation of the first wing and the second wing into the deployed position also moves the hinge flap over the mating profile.

A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

• determining kinematic constraints of a closed-loop mechanism, the closed-loop mechanism comprising:
• a first member;
• a second member rotatably connected to the first member;
• a third member rotatably connected to the first member;
• and
• a fourth member pivotally connected to the second member and the third member such that the fourth member kinematically constrains rotation motion of the second member and the third member;
• generating a motion profile based on geometric parameters of a first wing and a second wing and the kinematic constraints of the closed-loop mechanism, wherein:
• each wing is coupled to a respective member of the closed-loop mechanism;
• the motion profile defines a synchronized deployment trajectory for the first wing and the second wing;
• and
• the motion profile includes a deviation from a target trajectory;
• and
• optimizing the geometric parameters and the kinematic constraints by minimizing the deviation of the motion profile from the target trajectory.