By William Poor, University of Washington
As our skies increasingly crowd with buzzing, hovering, flitting drones, spare a thought for the humble hopping robot.
Hopping, a popular form of locomotion in the insect and amphibian worlds, is nearly two orders of magnitude more energy-efficient than flying. Unlike a mosquito that must constantly expend energy to stay aloft, a flea only works out when it jumps.
Those cost savings could also pay off in the world of robotics: A group of small, simple hopping robots could explore a location much more cheaply than flying drones. [Read more…] about Tiny robot developed at the University of Washington can ‘precisely control its jump height’
