With the growing demand for cross-domain operations in fields such as environmental monitoring, emergency response, and scientific exploration, hybrid aerial-aquatic vehicles (HAAVs) have emerged as a cutting-edge research direction integrating bio-inspired principles and multi-domain robotic technologies. This paper systematically reviews the technological trajectories of HAAVs: bio-inspired designs achieve efficient air-water transitions through flapping-wing (e. g., flying fish/insect-inspired) and water-jet (e. g., cephalopod-inspired) propulsion systems, enhanced by morphing structures (e.g., bistable airfoils, foldable wings). Meanwhile, drone-UUV integrated systems employ unimodal (multirotor/fixed-wing) and multimodal architectures, optimizing multi-domain adaptability through hybrid thrust mapping and active buoyancy control. Key challenges remain in cross-medium dynamic coupling, energy efficiency, and communication reliability. This paper provides theoretical foundations and technical roadmaps for the bio-inspired design and system integration of next-generation intelligent cross-domain platforms.
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