Researchers build sailboat drone prototype that can 'fly' — we think it's more like falling with…

• ALBATROSS turns an aircraft release into a controlled ocean landing system
• The 1.1 kg drone can deploy without carrying powered flight hardware
• Its rotating descent slows the fall before the vehicle reaches water

ALBATROSS, a drone built by seven engineers at Singapore university SUTD, is a lightweight sailboat drone designed to reach the water successfully after an aerial release.

The 1.107 kg prototype rotates while descending, which slows its fall before landing, and then converts into a wind-propelled vessel.

Its unusual launch method gives the machine a claimed operating range above 100 km while avoiding powered flight during deployment.

A drone that drops before it sails

ALBATROSS uses rigid wingsails to control its descent, causing the craft to rotate instead of dropping directly toward the water.

That spinning motion reduces falling speed and limits landing forces, allowing the vehicle to enter the ocean without landing hardware.

After landing on the...

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