ALBATROSS Robot Spins Like a Maple Seed, Then Sails the Water

Researchers at the Singapore University of Technology and Design built ALBATROSS, a 1-kg robot that a drone drops from 150 meters; its rigid wingsails spin it down at 7.4 m/s and then double as sails once it lands on water. The craft needs only three actuators and three navigation sensors.

• A drone lifts the 1-kg prototype to 150 m and releases it without a parachute
• Spinning cuts the water impact force by nearly 18.5 times
• Glide speed is about 7.4 m/s (26 km/h)
• A larger version sailed ~3 hours at 1 km/h on Singapore lakes