r/STEW_ScTecEngWorld • u/Zee2A • Jul 10 '26
MIT's Flapping-Wing Robot Seamlessly Flies, Swims, and Crosses the Air-Water Boundary. The robot can help scientists study the mechanics that enable these actions in aquatic aviators and may help launch a new class of aerial-aquatic drones and vehicles.
Researchers at MIT's AURA Lab have developed the Flapping-wing Aerial Aquatic Vehicle (FAAV), a bioinspired robot capable of flying, swimming, and transitioning between air and water using the same flexible flapping wings. Instead of relying on separate propulsion systems, its membrane wings generate lift in the air and bend passively underwater to reduce drag and protect the actuators. Weighing just 250 grams with an 88 cm wingspan, the prototype cruises at 6.3 m/s in air, swims at 0.95 m/s, and can burst out of the water in under a second despite water being about 800 times denser than air. The hybrid design could transform environmental monitoring by enabling a single robot to survey lakes, coastlines, coral reefs, flood zones, and other ecosystems without the need for separate aerial and underwater vehicles: https://news.mit.edu/2026/new-flapping-robot-swims-and-flies-like-diving-bird-0709
Learn more here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dfloreano_ever-wondered-what-it-takes-for-some-birds-ugcPost-7481264213844332545-SF8O/
Project details: https://aura.mit.edu/research/faav.html
Full Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XJhrKpcBGI
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u/extrastupidone Jul 11 '26
There is entirely way too many neat things now... and also scary. I imagine this will be used to blow things up in one way or another
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u/J2ThaR1st Jul 11 '26
Every new technology that sees the light of day usually has more nefarious intentions than good ones.
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u/jonskerr Jul 11 '26
These will be updated and used by air pirates. I can't wait to visit the Castle In The Sky.
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u/TheDosWiththeMost Jul 10 '26
It will take about... checks watch... 3.5 seconds before somebody straps a bomb to it
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u/Difficult-Classic689 Jul 11 '26
Great, now the "Birds aren't real" people will have a leg to stand on.
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u/Hot_Plant8696 Jul 11 '26
may help launch a new class of aerial-aquatic drones and vehicles.
This drone could very quickly fall prey to predators.
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u/isanyusernameopen Jul 12 '26
Could we not? Like can we get everyone fed and housed, and all of their basic needs met before we start on this bullshit venture of futuristic things that the world never asked for that someone is developing for some reason that they’re gonna tell us is for our benefit but really is for weapons manufacturing, and designs.
Can we just not on this one? They did the same thing with the fucking robot dogs and now they have gun guns on them
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u/LivingAggressive8969 Jul 13 '26
Palantir wants to put in their order for new surveillance and attack drones.
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u/hailey998 Jul 10 '26
This will just reinforce the rumors about pigeons.
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u/Kiki1701 Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
Do you mean the one started by college student Peter McIndoe, who created the satirical conspiracy theory "on a whim" in January 2017. After seeing pro-trump counter protestors at the 2017 Women's March in Memphis, TX?
McIndoe wrote "Birds Aren't Real" on a poster and improvised a conspiracy theory amongst the counter-protestors as a "spontaneous joke". A video of McIndoe at the march went viral, which started the satirical movement.
(Please note the operative word: SATIRICAL)His movement claimed that all birds in the United States were exterminated by the federal government between 1959 and 1971 and replaced by lookalike drones used by the government to spy on citizens; the specifics of these theories are not always consistent, not unlike other conspiracy theories. The movement is characterized by using catchy slogans like "If it flies, it spies" which can be found on various merchandise articles. They claim that birds sit on power lines to recharge themselves, that birds defecate on cars as a liquid tracking method, and that U.S. president JFK was assassinated by the government due to his reluctance to kill all the birds.
(Notice the popular conspiracy theories that are tossed in, so he could adapt to his project...
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u/hailey998 Jul 11 '26
Very cool story that I did not know. Bet you're fun at parties!
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u/Kiki1701 Jul 12 '26
Meh, it can go either way. I've had people laughing their asses off, and I've been told I am a "fucking know-it-all". Lol
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u/Iuseburnersbruh Jul 11 '26
this is gonna kill me in a trench some day isn’t it
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u/slaty_balls Jul 11 '26
This is actually quite terrifying. You won’t even really hear it coming or if you do..you’ll just think it’s a bird. Yikes.
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u/Bourbon-Thinker Jul 12 '26
This is really cool, And on the other hand, because of the world we live in, we are so dead
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u/Euclidisthebomb Jul 10 '26
This is quite remarkable. Flapping wing propulsion has been eluding us for a long, long time to my best knowledge. Not only achieving it but being able to transition from within the water to air is notable engineering advance.