Fox News Flash top headlines for Sept. 12 are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com A bio-inspired robot can use water from the environment to launch itself into the air, British researchers revealed. The robot can travel 85 feet through the air after taking off and researchers believe it could be used to collect samples in hazardous or otherwise cluttered environments, such as during a major flood. Researchers from the Aerial Robotics Laboratory at Imperial College London devised a system that requires only 0.2 grams of calcium carbide powder in a combusion chamber, with the only moving part being a small pump that delivers water from the environment where the robot sits.

Like a flying fish gliding above the water's surface, a robot can now propel itself out of water into flight. Mirko Kovac and his colleagues at Imperial College London have developed a robot that can lift itself out of water and travel through the air for up to 26 metres. The robot weighs 160 grams and could be used for monitoring the ocean sampling. It could take water samples by jumping in and out of the water in cluttered environments, avoiding obstacles such as ice in cold regions or floating objects after a flood. "In these situations, it's important to fly there quickly, take a sample and come back," says Kovac. The flying fish robot consists of a small tank that refills passively with water from its aquatic surroundings.