Imma Perfetto
Cosmos science journalist
As robots are built ever smaller, the obstacles in their environments become more and more difficult to traverse.
Harvard University engineers have taken inspiration from nature to tackle the problem, creating a palm-sized robot that can walk, climb, strike, scoop up objects, and even jump like a bug.
“Walking provides a precise and efficient locomotion mode but is limited in terms of obstacle traversal,” says the head of the Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory, Robert Wood.
“Jumping can get over obstacles but is less controlled. The combination of the 2 modes can be effective for navigating natural and unstructured environments.”
The agile little machine is modelled after one of nature’s greatest gymnasts: springtails. These common bugs, found wherever there is soil on Earth, can fling themselves through the air to avoid predators in as little as 18 milliseconds.
In 2024, Cosmos reported on research which found that one species, the globular springtail (Dicyrtomina minuta), can backflip more than 60 times higher, and 100 times longer, than its own body length.
“They have this unique mechanism that involves rapid contact with the ground, like a quick punch, to transfer momentum and initiate the jump,” says Wood.
To imitate this ability, Wood’s team outfitted their Harvard Ambulatory Microrobot, which was originally modelled after cockroaches, with a new robotic “furcula”. This is the forked, tail-like appendage tucked under a springtail’s body, which it releases to push of the ground and send itself flying.
The robot uses a latched spring to mimic this. Potential energy is stored in the furcula and is released like a catapult in just 14milliseconds. The 2.2g, 6.1cm-long construct can jump up to 1.4m horizontally, surpassing the abilities of similar sized insects.
To help it land optimally, the team also controlled the length of the furcula’s components, the amount of energy stored in them, and the orientation of the robot before take-off.
“Existing microrobots that move on flat terrain and jump do not possess nearly the agility that our platform does,” adds Francisco Ramirez Serrano, first author of the study published in Science Robotics.
