--- title: New flapping robot swims and flies like a diving bird description: MIT and EPFL engineers have built a flapping-wing aerial-aquatic vehicle (FAAV) weighing under 300 grams that can swim underwater and transition to flight,... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/new-flapping-robot-swims-and-flies-like-a-diving-bird-bfvndz2ok twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: New flapping robot swims and flies like a diving bird | daily.dev og:description: MIT and EPFL engineers have built a flapping-wing aerial-aquatic vehicle (FAAV) weighing under 300 grams that can swim underwater and transition to flight,... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/new-flapping-robot-swims-and-flies-like-a-diving-bird-bfvndz2ok og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/bfVNdZ2Ok.png og:image:alt: New flapping robot swims and flies like a diving bird og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # New flapping robot swims and flies like a diving bird **[MIT News](https://daily.dev/sources/mit)** · 7 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary MIT and EPFL engineers have built a flapping-wing aerial-aquatic vehicle (FAAV) weighing under 300 grams that can swim underwater and transition to flight, mimicking diving birds like puffins and petrels. The robot features flexible, hydrophobic-coated wings, a waterproof motor-driven crankshaft, and a steerable tail. Testing in a water tank and Lake Geneva revealed that medium-sized wings (80 cm), a flapping frequency of ~5 Hz, and a 70-degree pitch angle enable reliable water-to-air transitions — without requiring foot-paddling as real birds do. The robot swims at ~1 m/s and flies at ~6 m/s. Researchers envision deploying it for oceanographic sampling in areas too hazardous for traditional vessels. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How does the new MIT and EPFL flapping-wing robot transition from swimming to flying? The robot pitches its tail to about 70 degrees, which keeps its wingtips clear of the water surface as it flaps up out of the water into flight. It weighs under 300 grams and uses flexible wings coated with hydrophobic nanoparticles. A steeper angle causes it to tip back into the water, so 70 degrees was found to be the working threshold. _Robotics researchers exploring bio-inspired designs can find similar engineering breakdowns on daily.dev._ ### Do robots need paddling feet like diving birds to take off from water? No, testing showed the flapping-wing aerial-aquatic vehicle could launch from water into flight without any paddling mechanism, unlike most diving birds such as puffins and ducks that paddle their feet during takeoff. The right combination of wing size, flap frequency, and tail pitch was enough to achieve liftoff in the robotic system. _Engineers comparing biomimetic design choices can track findings like this via daily.dev._ ### What flapping frequency and speed did the MIT-EPFL aerial-aquatic robot achieve underwater versus in air? The robot swam at almost 1 meter per second while flapping around 5 hertz, and flew through air at about 6 meters per second at a similar flapping frequency, using medium-sized wings measuring 80 centimeters wide. These speeds and frequencies closely matched observed values for actual diving birds like puffins and petrels. _Anyone following biomimetic robotics benchmarks can keep tabs on developments through daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Small, medium or large, a robotic fish maintains its swimming ability](https://daily.dev/posts/small-medium-or-large-a-robotic-fish-maintains-its-swimming-ability-dkw7jepea) · Robohub · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Underwater Robot Mimics Fish With New Fin Design](https://daily.dev/posts/underwater-robot-mimics-fish-with-new-fin-design-hxf7bkwgc) · IEEE Spectrum · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Powered by muscle cells, a paper-thin robot swims through watery maze](https://daily.dev/posts/powered-by-muscle-cells-a-paper-thin-robot-swims-through-watery-maze-hpo9t4vzw) · MIT News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#robotics](https://daily.dev/tags/robotics) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/new-flapping-robot-swims-and-flies-like-a-diving-bird-bfvndz2ok) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"New flapping robot swims and flies like a diving bird","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/new-flapping-robot-swims-and-flies-like-a-diving-bird-bfvndz2ok","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/new-flapping-robot-swims-and-flies-like-a-diving-bird-bfvndz2ok"},"datePublished":"2026-07-09T18:13:58.666Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T09:15:01.777Z","description":"MIT and EPFL engineers have built a flapping-wing aerial-aquatic vehicle (FAAV) weighing under 300 grams that can swim underwater and transition to flight,...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/f495c93a03df521ee16342d4237f5056?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/f495c93a03df521ee16342d4237f5056?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"MIT News","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"MIT News","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/881e20a40aa44b12ba4bd27f5c14289d","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/mit"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/new-flapping-robot-swims-and-flies-like-a-diving-bird-bfvndz2ok","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"robotics","timeRequired":"PT7M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"MIT News","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/mit"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"New flapping robot swims and flies like a diving bird"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/new-flapping-robot-swims-and-flies-like-a-diving-bird-bfvndz2ok#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How does the new MIT and EPFL flapping-wing robot transition from swimming to flying?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The robot pitches its tail to about 70 degrees, which keeps its wingtips clear of the water surface as it flaps up out of the water into flight. It weighs under 300 grams and uses flexible wings coated with hydrophobic nanoparticles. A steeper angle causes it to tip back into the water, so 70 degrees was found to be the working threshold. Robotics researchers exploring bio-inspired designs can find similar engineering breakdowns on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Do robots need paddling feet like diving birds to take off from water?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"No, testing showed the flapping-wing aerial-aquatic vehicle could launch from water into flight without any paddling mechanism, unlike most diving birds such as puffins and ducks that paddle their feet during takeoff. The right combination of wing size, flap frequency, and tail pitch was enough to achieve liftoff in the robotic system. 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