Amphibious

If you need capable transportation in a remote area where there are no roads, yet you still want to stay at least somewhat eco-friendly, your options are limited. That's exactly why the six-wheeled Green Scout electric amphibious ATV was created.

Italian yacht design firm Lazzarini has unveiled designs for a solar-powered amphibious “crabmaran” that the studio says will be the first in the world. Dubbed Pagurus, the striking 82-ft catamaran merges solar technology and innovative design.

The basilisk is also known as the"Jesus Christ Lizard," due to the fact that it can run across the surface of the water. A new version of an existing type of robot does the same thing, plus it's capable of traversing rough terrain.

New Zealand boatbuilding company Sealegs has graced our pages with a long line of interesting amphibious watercraft over the past decade and a half, but none with the footprint of the forthcoming 12m Cabin RIB.

Iguana has built some of the most interesting amphibious boats in the world, sleek tenders with retractable treads for masterfully negotiating coastline on the way to the water. This month Iguana adds a 12-passenger Day Limo with retractable canopy.

The Sherp ATV was one of 2016's best off-road vehicles. Now Sherp is back with an even more impressive machine, an all-terrain hauler carrying 22 people or tons of cargo over the same near-impassable land and water routes the ATV was designed for.

If microbes such as toxic cyanobacteria are present in water bodies, then the sooner that health authorities know, the better. The prototype Pelican drone is designed with that in mind, as it can autonomously perform on-location water analyses.

​Back in 2013, we heard about an all-terrain walking robot known as RHex. Designed in a collaboration between McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania, it used six flipper-like legs to scamper around. Now, its successor is taking to the briny depths.

It can be hard to picture a living creature from dusty bones and old footprints, but now that might require a little less imagination. Researchers at EPFL and the Humboldt University of Berlin have built a robot to figure out just how a 300-million year-old ancestor of ours might have moved around.

​We’ve seen quite a few interesting robot designs over the years that allow adventurous machines to negotiate difficult terrain, but few with the distinct style of the Velox robot from New York engineering firm Pliant Energy Systems.

​Ordinarily, fixed-wing mapping drones either just perform a traditional landing on the ground, or they parachute down to it. However, what if they're being used over the water? Well, that's where Aeromao's new Aeromapper Talon Amphibious drone comes in.

​Wouldn't it be neat if there were a boat with three retractable wheels that allowed it to get in and out of the water on its own? Well there is, and it's made by New Zealand-based Sealegs. Now, the company has unveiled a new electric-drive model, the Electric E4.