Roboticists at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) are designing robots the emulate the jumping and gliding talents of grasshoppers, locusts, and bats. Recent work suggests that wings can be used to prolong the jumps of miniature jumping robots. However, no functional miniature jumping robot has been presented so far that can successfully apply this hybrid locomotion principle. In their publication, the researchers present the development and characterization of the 'EPFL jumpglider', a miniature robot that can prolong its jumps using steered hybrid jumping and gliding locomotion over varied terrain. For example, it can safely descend from elevated positions such as stairs and buildings and propagate on ground with small jumps. The publication presents a systematic evaluation of three biologically inspired wing folding mechanisms and a rigid wing design.
EPFL's jumpglider hybrid jumping and gliding.
The locust-inspired folding mechanism in action:
Bat inspired wing design:
http://kovac.me/Robot_Movies.html
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