Researchers unveiled a novel, grasshopper-inspired jumping robot at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. The robot weighs a miniscule 7 grams, and can jump 1.4 meters, or more than 27 times its body size — ten times farther for its size and weight than any existing jumping robot.
Small jumping animals such as fleas, locusts, grasshoppers and frogs use elastic storage mechanisms to slowly charge and quickly release their jumping energy. In this way, they can achieve very powerful jumps and very high accelerations.
The jumping robot presented here uses the exact same principle, charging two torsion springs via a small 0.6-gram pager motor and a cam. In order to be able to optimize the jumping performance, the legs can be adjusted for jumping force, takeoff angle and force profile during the acceleration phase. The tiny battery on board allows it to make up to 320 jumps at intervals of 3 seconds.
We should find something useful for this critter to do – before DARPA swallows it whole.
FORE!
impressive. a robot with a spring attached. oo.
the real trick that insects have perfected: landing.
“The tiny battery on board allows it to make up to 320 jumps at intervals of 3 seconds.” – except, it can’t land on it’s feet, so this is impossible.
Whoa, why the crack at DARPA?
They usually FUND interesting robotics, not hide them. Hence all the cool videos that we get to see on YouTube.
Now I know why Leo Laporte is doing live shows in his basement.
Looks like a bug in a hotel kitchinete
Many mechanical devices have their initial product development and testing in nature – over a long time frame of millions of years not an extended test of a month at best
Looks like a pole vaulting Manitoba grasshopper in slow motion
Some theme
Except for the one in the video. Har!
I could load a spring that weighs a miniscule 7 grams, then release it to jump higher then 1.4 meters, or more than 27 times its body size — ten times farther for its size and weight than any existing jumping spring.
(Or do I mean robot, or did I mean spring, what the diff?).
I’ll need 10 dozen of these hidden in the den for my niece’s next party. Remind me to charge up the vidcam.
How is this a robot (as opposed to a contraption)?