<p>The Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratory (MHL) at the University of Michigan is currently working on a project for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop an autonomous buoy for persistent surveillance in the open ocean. The vehicle, <img alt="" src="/research/sites/default/files/um_flying_fish.jpg" style="width: 251px; height: 141px; margin: 5px; float: right;" title="The Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratory's Flying Fish in action at the University of Michigan Biological Station" />which we call the &quot;U of M Flying Fish,&quot; is a collaborative effort with faculty from the MHL, Aerospace Engineering and EECS Departments, and has given us the opportunity to pull together a great team.&nbsp; The idea of this autonomous vehicle is that it quietly drifts to the edge of its watch circle, harnessing and harvesting energy from sun, wind, and waves as it drifts. Once it reaches the edge, it takes off like a seabird and flies to the other side of the circle where it autonomously lands and begins the drift cycle again. For a small vehicle like this, most waves look like those in the &quot;the perfect storm.&quot; By flying over them we minimize energy used in transit, maintain a long-term energy balance (i.e. no refueling required), and give more time for sensor operations without noise from the vehicle. We envision fleets of these vehicles deployed for a variety of environmental monitoring applications.&nbsp; Our work at the University of Michigan Biological Station is a demonstration of the energy havesting and autonomous ability of the Flying Fish. Douglas Lake will be used to demonstrate this vehicle&#39;s autonomous flight and ability to remain within a watch circle.&nbsp;</p>