Plenty of robots are inspired by nature to take on challenging tasks. This flying fish robot uses water from its environment to create a gas and launch from the water’s surface. It can travel 26 meters through the air after take-off. The idea is to use this robot to collect water samples in dangerous or cluttered environments.
Researchers at Imperial College London built a system that needs just 0.2 grams of calcium carbide powder in a combustion chamber. A small pump is used to bring in water from the environment. As they explain:
The water and the calcium-carbide powder then combine in a reaction chamber, producing a burnable acetylene gas. As the gas ignites and expands, it pushes the water out as a jet, which propels the robot clear of the water and into a glide of up to 26 meters.
[HT]
