SUTD unveils ALBATROSS, an air-droppable robot sailboat drone

Researchers at Singapore University of Technology and Design have built ALBATROSS, a 1.107 kg hybrid drone that is dropped from an aircraft or UAV, passively autorotates for a soft water landing, then sails autonomously. It offers a deployment range of over 100 km versus about 7 km for comparable hybrids.

• Prototype weighs 1.107 kg and uses just three actuators and three sensors
• Deployment range exceeds 100 km, versus about 7 km for SailMAV
• Autorotation slows descent and minimizes impact with the water
• Sea drone market projected at €18.9 billion by 2030