This Robot Could Leap Higher Than the Statue of Liberty Someday

Engineers have been making new and more advanced robots, and the latest addition to the impressive list is a new jumping design. The new robot is designed to be capable of jumping 400 feet into the air. The idea is that it can be used for exploring difficult terrains, and it may one day even help explorers on the moon or other planets like Mars.

A Jumping Robot

From desert landscapes to dense forests and cave systems, this robot can go through or above. It is meant to push the boundaries of what’s possible in robotic exploration, and the key to doing that is in its innovative design. It has prism-shaped legs and stretchable springs to maximize the way it changes elastic energy into kinetic energy. For now, this design has allowed the robot to jump six times its own height.

The researchers built the 15.7-inch tall prototype robot to put their theory to the test. While most robots use wheels or legs to move around and are effective on simple terrain and handling various tasks, they struggle with complex environments such as cliffs and uneven surfaces. Meanwhile, the jumping robot can overcome such limitations, and the goal is to get better at it by mimicking mechanisms seen in nature, including those of fleas and locusts.

A Combination of Two Models

To determine the most effective design, scientists examined two possible models. The first one had prismatic legs that moved with piston-like motion, and the other had rotational legs moving like those of a kangaroo. Both designs had limitations and premature take-offs, so the scientists combined elements from both and created a new version with improved stability and energy efficiency.

The work on the robot isn’t done. The researchers will continue improving the control of the robot’s jumps and improve jump frequency per charge. The team wants to explore more compact designs tailored for space missions.