This Robot Can Flap Its Wings to Both Fly and Swim. It Might One Day Help Scientists Study Diving Birds and Survey Ocean Habitats
This Robot Can Flap Its Wings to Both Fly and Swim. It Might One Day Help Scientists Study Diving Birds and Survey Ocean Habitats The bioinspired device, which weighs roughly half a pound and measures around three feet wide, was also modeled after aquatic birds like puffins, gulls and loons Margherita Bassi | Daily Correspondent July 24, 2026 4:28 p.m. ShareCopy linkEmailSMSFacebookXRedditLinkedInBlueskyPrintAdd as preferred source Getting the device to transition between air and water seamlessly was one of the most challenging aspects of the work.
- ▪This Robot Can Flap Its Wings to Both Fly and Swim.
- ▪It Might One Day Help Scientists Study Diving Birds and Survey Ocean Habitats The bioinspired device, which weighs roughly half a pound and measures around three feet wide, was also modeled after aquatic birds like puffins, gulls and loons
- ▪ShareCopy linkEmailSMSFacebookXRedditLinkedInBlueskyPrintAdd as preferred source Getting the device to transition between air and water seamlessly was one of the most challenging aspects of the work.
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This Robot Can Flap Its Wings to Both Fly and Swim. It Might One Day Help Scientists Study Diving Birds and Survey Ocean Habitats The bioinspired device, which weighs roughly half a pound and measures around three feet wide, was also modeled after aquatic birds like puffins, gulls and loons Margherita Bassi | Daily Correspondent July 24, 2026 4:28 p.m. ShareCopy linkEmailSMSFacebookXRedditLinkedInBlueskyPrintAdd as preferred source Getting the device to transition between air and water seamlessly was one of the most challenging aspects of the work. Raphael Zufferey Many birds can traverse both air and water, transitioning between the different elements according to their needs. Gulls, puffins, loons and petrels are all such boundary crossers.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Smithsonian Magazine.