Aerial robot ALBATROSS spins like a falling maple seed before landing softly on water and transforming into a wind-driven sailboat in a new demonstration of hybrid robotic technology.

Developed by Shane Kyi Hla Win and colleagues, the bio-inspired robot is designed to operate in both air and water while using only three actuators and three primary sensors for autonomous navigation.

During descent, ALBATROSS passively autorotates using two rigid wingsails, allowing it to make a controlled landing on the water. Once afloat, those same wings become sails that propel the robot using wind.

A tail rudder inspired by fish fins helps guide the robot and propel it when wind conditions are weak. Researchers conducted repeated field trials at two reservoirs in Singapore, deploying ALBATROSS from an altitude of 150 meters.

The robot successfully sailed autonomously using a rule-based controller, while simulations showed that reinforcement learning could also be used to navigate between designated waypoints.

The researchers say the simplified design could provide a rapidly deployable platform for ocean and environmental monitoring as well as disaster response, without the heavy and complex actuators often required by robots designed to operate in both air and water.

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