Leaping out of the water: aerial-aquatic locomotion with flapping wings
Name
aeb6744_accepted_withSupplMat_4_.pdf
Size
2.21 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
2242b42806d19049c97397ff85f53f81
Author(s)
Zufferey, Raphael
Jeger, Simon
Hüsser, Moritz
Ruiz, Fernando
Lapsansky, Anthony
Ijspeert, Auke
Floreano, Dario
Date Issued
July 9, 2026
Journal
Science
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Citation
Raphael Zufferey et al. , Leaping out of the water: Aerial-aquatic locomotion with flapping wings. Science 393,207-211 (2026).
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Wing-propelled diving birds flap their wings to move through air and water, yet the wing morphology and kinematics that enable this behavior remain poorly understood due to the difficulty of collecting in-situ data. The impact of flapping frequency, wing size and stiffness on locomotion in-and transition between-the two media are still unknown. We compare data from diving birds against experiments using a flapping-wing robot capable of flying, swimming, plunge diving, and exiting the water. We show that frequency adaptation, flexible wings, and powerful actuation enable seamless transitions without folding wings or legs, that large wings enhance flight without substantially reducing underwater efficiency, and that tail-body distance and egress angle affect water exit. These results clarify how birds and robots balance multi-fluid locomotion constraints.
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aeb6744
