Lose the can of dancing beans. Seriously, it’s not worth your money, because robotics at Harvard University have just produced a 3-D printed, soft-skinned, jumping robot that is capable of autonomous navigation by combining speed and the looks of classic, clunky robots of the eighties’ rigid dreams.
SOFT SKIN, HARD JUMP
Science magazine described the jumping robot as “[a] 3D printed functionally graded soft robot powered by combustion,” in an issue dated for the 10th of July. The Harvard Gazette explains that the true engineering marvel in all of this is the capability to integrate soft and rigid materials. One such engineer named Robert J. Wood said that the idea of soft robotics is to create a line of robots that is totally soft to the touch. However, due to practical reasons, even soft robots will have to have certain specifically rigid components, e.g., electronics and batteries.
SOFT SKIN IMPROVES DURABILITY, VERSATILITY
So far, the soft jumping robot has shown a method of integrating its rigid components with a soft body via gradients of material properties softening the transition from hard to soft. If such material fails, it’s often the case for the quickened, unmediated transition from hard to soft causes damage, causing the robot to cease functioning, and fail.
The little guy–powered by combustion–comes in two pieces: the body is a plunger with three legs, and the core module, which contains mechanical components and power. A soft shield envelops this module, one created with a 3D printer. In order to move, the robot’s pneumatic legs inflate in order to shift its weight. However, the oxygen and butane in its core module are then mixed and ignited, blowing the robot up into the air.
EXPLODING ONESELF INTO THE AIR IS NOT A useless TRICK
According to robot pros at the University of Harvard, this little bot can achieve a net body weight six times that of its normal (that is, when it leaps vertically), and half of its body weight during lateral jumps. If the technology is employed in any sort of military field, the robot using the tech will prove a useful means of navigating through dangerous or obscure obstacles.
This jumping robot can also take quite a beating
Nicholas Bartlett, the first author of the paper on the robot, actually said that the robot is wonderful because of the way it lends itself so nicely to abuse. No, really. The gradient of stiffness the robot has available to it allows it to internalize the impact of many different kinds of dangerous landings, and can survive the explosions from combustion better than you would any sprite from a first-person-shooter.
The goal of this project is to explore the benefits of soft robotics in cybernetic design.
While the MUSIO robot may not jump, it’s definitely a lot cuter and more intelligent
Soft Skin is Key to Jumping Robot Technology
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