Robot Grasshopper Gets Self-Righting System
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Wednesday, 28 of October , 2009 at 12:53 am
Remember that jumping grasshopper robot from May of last year? It still hasn’t quite figured out how to fly, but it can now make more than one autonomous jump in a row, thanks to a primitive simple but effective self-righting system. It’s the same type of thing we saw on the WeebleCopter: a spherical metal framework with the robot on the bottom, where its weight will cause the whole thing to roll upright:
There are some downsides to this system, including increased bulk and most notably a decrease in jumping height of nearly 25%, but the frame does protect the robot, and if it gets stuck in a tight spot, it can use the frame to bounce off obstacles and get itself pointed in a different direction.
[ Self Deploying Microglider @ EPFL LIS ]
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Category: Biorobotics, Research
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