DIY engineer goes viral for 3D-printing a robot that can fly, swim, and walk

In a recent testament to the capability of modern 3D printing technology, a Chinese DIY engineer 3D-printed a fully functional amphibious drone. He designed the parts for the robot and used a 3D printing service provider to bring them to life, with the parts delivered to his doorstep.

The shape of the robot looks turtle- or tortoise-inspired. The robot has 6 legs — 2 fore legs and 4 hinds legs. This design means it can navigate terrains that traditional wheeled robots cannot. It also has 3 rotors — two by the sides and one behind. To fly, the 3 rotors assume vertical positions, allowing it to fly with stability. For swimming, the two side-rotors assume a horizontal position, while the hind-rotor maintains a vertical position. The two side-rotors rotate, pushing the robot forward in water.

One thing that is helping this robot go viral is the fact that the creator also showed it to be a miniature missile launcher; firing small missiles from the robot in his demonstration. This led to speculations it could birth a generation of weaponized multi-terrain autonomous drones. In the demonstration video, the robot waddled through puddles, walked on even and uneven surfaces, flew, swam, and fired missiles.