Here is a bio-inspired robot that uses water to create a gas and launch itself from the water’s surface. It can travel 26 meters through the air after take-off to collect samples in hazardous and cluttered environments. Researchers at Imperial College London built a chamber that uses 0.2 grams of calcium carbide powder in a combustion chamber. A small pump is used to bring the water in. As the researchers explain:
The water and the calcium-carbide powder then combine in a reaction chamber, producing a burnable acetylene gas. As the gas ignites and expands, it pushes the water out as a jet, which propels the robot clear of the water and into a glide of up to 26 meters.
The robot was tested in a lab, lake, and wave tank. It generates 25 times its weight to overcome the waves. More information is available here.