Nezha-Morphing: Design and Experiments of a Seabird-Inspired Hybrid Aerial Underwater Vehicle
Muxierepu Aili, Xuwang Song, Yingqiang Wang, Zheng Zeng, Lian Lian
Abstract
Hybrid aerial underwater vehicles (HAUVs) hold great promise but face challenges like air-water integration and high underwater resistance. This paper presents Nezha-Morphing, a bio-inspired HAUV that emulates seabirds’ adaptive wing extension and retraction mechanisms for efficient movement in both aerial and aquatic domains. It has a servo-driven foldable-arm mechanism and is made of high-strength, low-mass materials with a double-system architecture for aerial and underwater control. This paper details the mechanical and electronic system design, dynamic analysis, and experimental results of Nezha-Morphing. The experimental findings are highly impressive: underwater, the folded-arm configuration effectively reduces resistance, enabling a maximum speed of 0.620 m/s and achieving a high average acceleration, significantly enhancing motion efficiency and flexible maneuverability in confined spaces. In the air, with its arms unfolded, the vehicle exhibits exceptional stability and strong wind resistance, maintaining steady flight even under level-4 wind conditions. Moreover, it completes the water-to-air cross-domain transition in just 1.5 seconds. Nezha-Morphing successfully integrates flight stability, cross-domain adaptability, and hydrodynamic efficiency, showcasing substantial potential for diverse applications.
BibTeX
@inproceedings{iros2025_nezhamorphingdes,
title = {Nezha-Morphing: Design and Experiments of a Seabird-Inspired Hybrid Aerial Underwater Vehicle},
author = {Muxierepu Aili and Xuwang Song and Yingqiang Wang and Zheng Zeng and Lian Lian},
booktitle = {IROS 2025},
year = {2025}
}