Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • NEWS AND VIEWS

Jumping robot bests biology by enhancing stored energy

A robotic jumper combines inspiration from biology with clever engineering to reach new heights. Crucial to the design is the combination of a rotary motor with a hybrid spring that maximizes stored energy density.
  1. Sarah Bergbreiter

    1. Sarah Bergbreiter is in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

A tiny insect known as a froghopper can jump to a height of 70 centimetres, which is a staggering 115 times its body length1. To do this, it uses elastic structures, or springs, in its legs to power take-off velocities of up to 4 metres per second. Inspired by such insects, Hawkes et al.2 have developed a general framework with which to explore how both biological and engineered systems can generate and use energy to achieve the highest jump. The result is a robot that can jump almost 50 times higher than the froghopper — to a remarkable 33 metres (Fig. 1), with a take-off velocity of more than 28 metres per second.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 604, 627-628 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01077-4

References

  1. Burrows, M. Nature 424, 509 (2003).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Hawkes, E. W. et al. Nature 604, 657–661 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Longo, S. J. et al. J. Exp. Biol. 222, jeb197889 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Ilton, M. et al. Science 360, eaao1082 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Sutton, G. P. et al. Integ. Comp. Biol. 59, 1609–1618 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Zaitsev, V. et al. Bioinspir. Biomim. 10, 066012 (2015).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Gerratt, A. P. & Bergbreiter, S. Smart Mater. Struct. 22, 014010 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Greenspun, J. & Pister, K. S. J. in Hilton Head Workshop 2018: A Solid-State Sensors, Actuators, and Microsystems Workshop MP-16 (Transducer Research Foundation, 2018).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Bennet-Clark, H. C. J. Exp. Biol. 63, 53–83 (1975).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Koh, J.-S. et al. Science 349, 517–521 (2015).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Kovac, M., Fuchs, M., Guignard, A., Zufferey, J.-C. & Floreano, D. in IEEE Int. Conf. Robot. Autom. 373–378 (IEEE, 2008).

  12. Divi, S. et al. J. R. Soc. Interface 17, 20200070 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Yim, J. K., Singh, B. R. P., Wang, E. K., Featherstone, R. & Fearing, R. S. IEEE Robot. Autom. Lett. 5, 3422–3429 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Haldane, D. W., Plecnik, M. M., Yim, J. K. & Fearing, R. S. Sci. Robot. 1, eaag2048 (2016).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links