Flying Fish Inspired The "Flying Fish"

Yes, yet another type of UAV has been created... but this one can't help but to pique our interest. A group of researchers from the University of Michigan has created the first unmanned seaplane able to perform unpiloted takeoffs and landings on water.

The aircraft is appropriately called the "Flying Fish," and is credited with being the first unmanned seaplane that can perform takeoffs and landings on water on its own. The Michigan team created the seven-foot wingspan craft in the framework of a project funded by the US Defense Advance Research Project Agency (DARPA). The UAV is designed to work as a tool for the agency’s "Persistent Ocean Surveillance" program.

Guy Meadows, Director of the University of Michigan Hydrodynamics Laboratories, said he was inspired by flying fish that soar over water. Meadows also studied sea birds in order to design the robotic aircraft, reports online tech site TFOT.info.

About the real flying fish, Meadows says, "They’re all about the same size -- 20 pounds with a six-and-half foot wingspan. Aerodynamically speaking, that’s a sweet spot to be flying close to the water. Our plane is about the size of a large pelican."

In order to successfully operate from a dynamic surface like water, the craft employs novel takeoff and landing methods. The takeoff sequence is triggered when the Flying Fish's onboard Global Positioning System (GPS) measures when the craft has floated to a pre-determined position... and within 33 feet of that target, the Flying Fish is airborne.

"The plane puts the motors on at full throttle and sets the pitch elevator enough to break out of the water. Then it counts and pitches forward," said Ella Atkins, Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering and of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

The aircraft will not take any measurements of its surroundings to enable it to takeoff from the water’s surface. Researchers say wave oscillations might confuse it, and cause the Flying Fish to dive into the water, instead of soar to the sky.

Landing the Flying Fish also utilizes GPS, which senses coordinates to start a shallow decent. Atkins says when Flying Fish impacts the water, it cuts into the water like a diver because it is equipped with pontoons instead of with a flat bottom.

In the future, developers want to add solar power panels and more sensors to the plane.

The Flying Fish is a cooperative effort among researchers in the University of Michigan’s departments of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Aerospace Engineering.

And yes, we admit... we want one.

FMI: www.ns.umich.edu