ALBATROSS Sailboat Drone Uses Autorotation for Ocean Landing

Researchers at Singapore university SUTD have built ALBATROSS, a lightweight sailboat drone designed to deploy from the air and sail across the ocean. The seven-engineer team describes it as a prototype that can be released from an aircraft or UAV.

The 1.107 kg craft uses rigid wingsails to rotate as it descends, slowing its fall before it reaches the water. It then rights itself automatically and switches to sailing mode. ALBATROSS has no landing gear; three control actuators and three main sensors support its operation, while a rudder steers it and generates thrust through lateral movement.

The researchers say the drone can travel more than 100 km, compared with the approximately 7 km range reported for SailMAV. They say its design avoids aerial propulsion, complex mechanical reconfiguration and active stabilization during the air-to-water transition. The team also said it can sail back to shore at the end of a mission.

The researchers suggest aerial deployment could place sensing equipment in areas where ocean conditions change quickly. Whether the prototype performs reliably beyond controlled testing depends on its descent, self-righting, steering and sailing performance.