ALBATROSS robot flies, sails and swims autonomously

Researchers at the Singapore University of Technology and Design built ALBATROSS, a robot that is dropped from a drone, slows its fall with spinning wings and morphs into a sailboat with a fish-like rudder. It weighs just over two pounds and runs autonomously for hours on three actuators and three sensors.

• Dropped from 490 ft, it slows descent from 69 mph to about 15 mph
• Spinning wings cut water impact force 18-fold
• After a 3-hour test roughly 50% of battery remained
• Trials were held over two reservoirs in Singapore