Robots Hop to Sucess

On robot.net a new type of robotic grasshopper is featured. The odd looking robot, looks very much like a large ball that deflects like a bow and arrow to propel the robot upward. This is similar to how a grasshopper jumps.

I'm a fan of hopping robot's, mainly because for my Master's Thesis I designed micro robotic grasshopper with a new type of actuator. Granted my robotic hopper only leaped a few millimeters, but I'm still intrigued by the idea of a swarm of jumping robots.

Grasshoppers jump by using their upper and lower leg muscles to pull back on their knee joint. The knee is able to deform and create potential energy. To create this mechanically, a slot and pin are used. The pin is held in place by a spring. When the muscles compress the spring, enough force is created for jumping. When the muscles release, the object is propelled forward.

A great example of how this all works is on the website How Grasshoppers Jump by Heitler out of the UK. I used this site to understand the bio-mechanics of a grasshopper, way back when I was doing my Master works. I'm glad to see it's still up and running. Below are some snap shots.

One last thought on grasshoppers. I found this great video from the NewScientist. A grasshopper robot was able to jump 27 times higher than it's own height. This is a world record. It will be awesome when it can actually land a jump!

The intent for this jumping robot is for search and rescue in a forest. While jumping robots are good for uneven terrain, another advantage is the low computing power. Over long distances, hopping robots can make small adjustments to their path with out much power loss. Traditional wheel robots need to constantly be monitoring direction and require turning for correction.

While hopping robots are a fun concept, the challenges of hopping robots are numerous. Landing and stability are intrinsic problems with this type of design. I'll be blogging more about this in the future.