A giant leap for bots

[theblackalchemist]

A giant leap for bots

 

British engineers have designed the first robot that can jump like a grasshopper and roll like a ball – attributes that could make it invaluable for space exploration.

 

The automaton has been named Jollbot – an amalgam of ‘jump’, ‘roll’ and ‘robot’ – by its creator Rhodri Armour, a PhD student from the University of Bath.

 

“Others in the past have made robots that jump and robots that roll; but we’ve made the first robot that can do both,” Armour says.

 

The Jollbot is shaped like a spherical cage that can roll in any direction, giving it the manoeuvrability of wheels without the problem of overturning or getting stuck in potholes.

 

The robot is also flexible and small, and weighs less than a kilogramme. This has dual benefits: First, it’s not damaged when landing after jumping; and second, it’s also less expensive than conventional exploration robots.

 

The robot’s components were made by rapid prototyping technology – similar to that used by the RepRap machine pioneered by the university, which builds parts by “printing” layers of plastic on top of each other to produce a 3D object.

Armour hopes his creation, which can jump over obstacles and roll over smoother terrain, could be used for space exploration or land survey work in the future. After all, one of the major challenges that face explorer robots is being able to move over rough terrain.

 

Robots with legs are generally very complex, expensive to build and control, and encounter problems if they fall over. Wheels are a simpler solution to this, but are limited by the size of obstacles they can overcome.

 

To solve the problem, Rhodri and his colleagues in the university’s Centre for Biomimetic & Natural Technologies have been looking to nature for inspiration – designing a robot that jumps over obstacles in its path, like an insect.

 

“In nature, there are two main types of jumping. The first is hopping, like a kangaroo, which uses its fine control and direct muscle action to propel it along. The second is ‘pause and leap’, such as in a grasshopper, which stores muscle energy in spring-like elements and rapidly releases it to make the jump,” Armour says.

 

Mumbai Mirror - A giant leap for bots, Tech - TechTalk,Mumbai Mirror