A team led by Professor Raphael Zufferey in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a winged amphibious robot that can swim underwater and then take off into the air to fly without changing its shape, publishing their findings in *Science* on the 9th (local time). The robot has a streamlined 250 g body, a pair of flexible membrane wings, and a movable tail. Experiments showed that an appropriate combination of wing size, flexibility, and flapping speed allows effective movement in both air and water, with wings of medium flexibility delivering the best overall performance by boosting underwater thrust while generating enough lift for aerial flight. Comparing energy consumption showed that emerging from the water to fly above the surface is more efficient than continuously swimming underwater for long-distance travel. The robot is expected to be useful for monitoring water quality or inspecting infrastructure in hard-to-access locations.