Watch: Crafty Robot Uses Wings to Hop Where Others Fear to Tread

Flying robots have several advantages over ground-based ones, but they typically consume a lot of energy. A new experimental robot offers a clever solution: instead of walking or flying traditionally, it uses a wing-assisted hopping mechanism.

Lightweight and Compact, Yet Innovative

Developed by researchers at MIT, the University of Hong Kong, and City University of Hong Kong — the same team behind the Hopcopter — the robot weighs less than 1 gram and stands about 5 cm tall.

It features a vertically oriented, spring-loaded carbon fiber rod that acts like a pogo-stick leg. The robot features four insect-inspired flapping wings on top, which electrically activated artificial muscles power. In its current prototype form, an external power source supplies energy to the robot, while an external motion-tracking system guides it.

When dropped to the ground, its spring leg compresses on impact, storing energy.

That energy is then released as the spring recoils, launching the robot into the air. The wings beat to provide additional lift, allowing the robot to hop up to 20 cm high and move sideways at speeds of up to 30 cm per second. Importantly, it uses significantly less power than it would to stay airborne using just the wings.

Jump Precision With Help From Algorithms

At the peak of the hop, the tracking system detects the robot’s next landing spot, including its angle and terrain. A computer algorithm calculates the speed and angle required for the robot to land properly and prepare for its next jump.

The wings then adjust its orientation during descent to meet those parameters.

Thanks to this system, the robot can easily move over obstacles and navigate different types of rough or slanted terrain that would block wheeled or walking robots. It has already succeeded on grass, ice, wet glass, uneven soil, and even a tilting platform.

Even more impressively, tests show that it uses 64% less energy than a typical drone-style robot flying over the same distance.

Surprising Energy Efficiency

Because of this efficiency, the researchers plan to equip it with its own onboard battery and motion-tracking system. It could also carry extra sensors for future missions such as search and rescue in disaster zones or exploration in hazardous environments.

The study, led by Yi-Hsuan Hsiao, Songnan Bai, and Zhongtao Guan, was recently published in Science Advances. You can watch the robot hop in the video below.

Read the original article on: New Atlas

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