The Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at Lausanne Polytech in Switzerland is developing a novel flying platform which has the ability to move on the ground by using its wings only. EPFL’s DALER – Deployable Air Land Exploration Robot – has the wings mounted on shafts that can either be locked or rotate.Using the wings as whegs to move on rough terrains instead of adding an additional structure to the robot allows to minimize its structural mass.
Therefore, this design minimizes the total weight of the platform, and thus minimizes the impact on the flight performance of the robot. The morphology of the robot is optimized for ground speed. It can move forward at 0.2 m/s (0.7 BL/s), and can rotate on spot at 25°/s. The robot is capable of walking with different gaits, it can move on different surfaces, it can overcome high obstacles, and can also navigate in rough terrains.
Source: YouTube