Robot Grasshopper Grows Wings
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Monday, 24 of August , 2009 at 12:50 am
Last May, we wrote about a 7 gram robot grasshopper that is capable of jumping a distance of 1.4 meters, which is pretty huge for such a small robot. By using reduction gears and legs that act as springs, the robot is a very efficient mover, as well. We commented in that post that “the great thing about jumping is that it combines the advantages of being on the ground with one of the most important advantages of being able to fly: obstacle avoidance.” Of course, the other big advantage of being able to fly is that you can cover large distances quickly and efficiently (albeit mostly due to the aforementioned avoidance of obstacles).
Researchers at EPFL’s Laboratory of Intelligent Systems have made their robot grasshopper into a true flier by adding another bit of real grasshopper anatomy: wings. Made of carbon, mylar, and shape memory muscles, the wings are fully controllable and the robot is able to steer itself towards sources of light. Eventually, the wings will be retractable and extendable just like a real grasshopper, and when integrated with the jumping legs and possibly some solar panels, you’ve got a tiny, cheap, extremely efficient robot capable of covering large distances over just about any sort of terrain by jumping, gliding, landing, and repeating.
Currently the wings and body aren’t really able to work together, so pending that, we’ve got videos of the two halves after the jump.
[ Biomemetic Jumping Microglider ]
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Category: Biorobotics, Research
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