{
  "id": 15809769,
  "title": "It’s a bird, it’s a plane … it’s a robo-puffin?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-a-robo-puffin",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-20T21:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MIT Technology Review",
    "slug": "mit-technology-review",
    "url": "https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/10/20/1145205/its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-a-robo-puffin/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A novel \"flapping-wing aerial-aquatic vehicle\" (FAAV) has been developed by engineers from MIT and EPFL in Switzerland, capable of transitioning seamlessly between flying and swimming underwater. Weighing less than half a pound, the lightweight robot features a fuselage, flexible wings, and a motorized tail. The wings, made of thin hydrophobic membranes, pump up and down at preset frequencies, driven by a battery-powered electric motor. The tail's motor allows it to adjust its angle to assist the robot in flying or diving. In tests with varying wing sizes, frequencies, and tail angles, researchers found medium-sized wings, flexible enough to reduce flapping in water, and firm enough for flight, yielded the best results. The robot's flight and swimming speeds and frequencies are comparable to those of actual birds, with a 70-degree tail angle enabling it to leap from water to air. Notably, unlike many diving birds using their feet for takeoff, the FAAV does not require feet. These findings could lead to a new class of drones and underwater vehicles for accessing dangerous aquatic regions. \"Our dream vision is for oceanographers, marine biologists, and members of coastal communities to launch this robot from a boat, or from shore, and it would fly close to the area of interest, such as an iceberg or a port facility, or over a pod of whales,\" said Raphael Zufferey. The researchers plan to design more adaptable wings and test the robot's performance in turbulent waters and windy conditions. Ultimately, they hope to deploy the FAAV to collect oceanographic data more frequently and over a wider range of locations.",
  "summary": "Given that water is 1,000 times denser than air, moving through those two mediums requires very different mechanics—or so one might assume. Yet birds like gulls and puffins can plunge into the sea, swim underwater, and leap back into the air to fly away. And now engineers at MIT and EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland, have…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}