Hi everyone, you have probably noticed this message in news if you are interested in robots. This small "grasshopper" robot weights just 7 grams and it can jump 1.4 meters straight up. What does it mean? Well, it means that it can jump on so long distance that is equal its height x 27. That is really amazing, because it also needs only very small amount of energy (it can make 320!! jumps with just one battery) to make that huge jump. Another big advantage of this kind of movement is that by jumping robot can move in very rough terrain and it is very good platform for small sensor and can be used for example for recognition of other planets. "These tiny jumping robots could be fitted with solar cells to recharge between jumps and deployed in swarms for extended exploration of remote areas on Earth or on other planets." says profesor from EPFL Dario Floreano. Imagine how great will look huge swarm of grasshoper robots jumping thru the huge plains of Mars..
This robot was developed by researchers from the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at EPFL (École polytechnique Fédérale de Laussane). The way this robot performs jumps was inspired by animals like grasshoper or frog that accumulates energy very slowly and releases it very quickly. Check out this robot in action on these robot videos.
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