MIT‑EPFL robot flies out of water, mimicking diving birds

Engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) have created a lightweight flapping‑wing robot that can swim underwater and then launch directly into flight. Weighing less than 300 g, the “Flapping‑Wing Aerial‑Aquatic Vehicle” (FAAV) uses flexible, water‑repellent wings and a movable tail. In laboratory tanks and in Lake Geneva the robot swam at about 1 m s⁻¹ with a wing‑beat frequency of roughly five hertz, and after pitching upward at a 70‑degree angle it broke the surface and flew at around 6 m s⁻¹ using the same wing‑beat rate.

The researchers highlighted that, unlike diving birds which paddle with their feet, the robot relies solely on its wings for the water‑to‑air transition. They envision the platform enabling low‑cost oceanographic missions: launching from a boat or shore, flying to remote icebergs, ports, or whale pods, diving to collect samples or measurements, and returning with data without the expense of research vessels. Future work will add twistable wings and test performance in rough seas, aiming to create a new generation of aerial‑aquatic drones for marine monitoring, glacier studies, and hazardous offshore inspections.