Tiny ‘jumping robots’ have more in common with firecrackers than Johnny 5

Perhaps calling an immobile plastic bug with explosives strapped to its underside a ” jumping robot ” is a bit of a stretch, but who are we to argue with the Army Research Laboratory and the University of Maryland. The two groups have collaborated to create a pair of “robots” that measure just a few millimeters in size but can jump several centimeters in the air. One uses a spring like mechanism (which an operator must press down with a pair of tweezers) to propel it, while the other uses a small rocket, which can be triggered either by current applied over wires or a phototransistor (for untethered flight). It all makes for a pretty neat video, which you can find after the break – even if your sister’s Furby was more robot than these tiny things. Continue reading Tiny ‘jumping robots’ have more in common with firecrackers than Johnny 5 Tiny ‘jumping robots’ have more in common with firecrackers than Johnny 5 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 01:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Posted by on September 30, 2011. Filed under News, Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.