An Aerial–Aquatic Robot with Tunable Tilting Motors Capable of Multimode Motion

Abstract

Aerial–aquatic robots have promising applications due to their ability to operate in air and water with different motion modes. However, challenges such as water/air transition and multimedia movement still limit their development. Inspired by the aerial–aquatic behavior of wild ducks, an aerial–aquatic robot with tunable tilting motors and a delta wing is introduced. The robot can perform multimode motion, including flying in air, swimming on the water surface, transitioning between air and water, and diving underwater. Besides, the buoyancy design enables the robot to float at the air–water interface without consuming energy. Herein, the performance of the robot, including vertical and horizontal cross-media performance, power consumption, and endurance in various motion modes, is evaluated. The field experiments show that the proposed robot possesses multimode motion and high maneuverability. This study provides a new idea for the structural design of next-generation practical aerial–aquatic robots.