Robots Are Jumping to New Heights

Insects may get a bad rap as being little more than creepy-crawly pests, but nothing can punch above its weight quite like a bug. Take the grasshopper, for instance, which can leap over 20 times its own body length in a single bound, making it one of the most impressive jumpers in the animal kingdom. Or consider the incredible strength of rhinoceros beetles, which can lift objects weighing hundreds of times their own body weight. Not bad, eh?

Considering that the performance of our own robotic creations is not even close to what insects are capable of (not to mention their size and efficiency!), we might do well to put them under a microscope rather than a shoe. We could learn an awful lot that might help to inform our design efforts. That is what researchers at Harvard University think, anyway. They have been working on a robot that is inspired by tiny jumping insects that have a very unique mechanism that puts Michael Jordan's hang time to shame.

Their small but incredibly agile robot is capable of both walking and jumping, and was modeled after the biomechanics of the springtail. This tiny insect, commonly found in leaf litter and garden soil, uses a specialized appendage called the furcula to launch itself into the air in a fraction of a second. By mimicking this natural mechanism, the Harvard team has developed a microrobot that pushes the boundaries of what small-scale robotics can achieve.

The project builds on the Harvard Ambulatory Microrobot (HAMR) platform, which was originally designed to move with cockroach-like dexterity. However, the latest iteration enhances HAMR’s mobility by incorporating a spring-loaded jumping mechanism inspired by the furcula. This addition allows the robot to execute rapid, controlled jumps, making it far more versatile in navigating complex environments.

The researchers’ key innovation is a process called latch-mediated spring actuation. This technique involves storing potential energy in an elastic component and releasing it suddenly to generate powerful movement. It is a strategy that appears frequently in nature — not just in springtails, but also in animals like mantis shrimp, which use similar mechanisms to deliver their lightning-fast strikes. The researchers refined this approach by integrating a specially designed appendage that enables their robot to perform precise, repeatable jumps.

The robot is exceptionally small and lightweight, measuring just 6.1 centimeters in length and weighing only 2.2 grams. Despite its small size, it delivers an impressive performance, achieving jumps of up to 1.4 meters — an impressive 23 times its body length. This far surpasses the jumping abilities of most similarly sized robots, making it one of the most agile microrobots ever developed.

To optimize its movement, the team used computer simulations to refine the robot’s design. They precisely controlled factors such as the length of its linkages, the energy stored in its jumping mechanism, and its orientation before takeoff. This attention to detail allows the robot to land in an optimal position after each jump, ensuring stable and reliable operation.

As robotics continues to evolve, nature remains one of the best sources of inspiration. By studying the incredible capabilities of small creatures like springtails, scientists and engineers are finding innovative ways to improve the agility, efficiency, and adaptability of robots. The Harvard team’s latest work goes to show that sometimes the smallest creatures can teach us the biggest lessons.