Taking its inspiration from the grasshopper, a tiny two-legged robot that stores elastic energy in springs has leaped 27 times its own height, smashing the record of 17 times set by a previous robot.
Later they want to build a wire superstructure to make the robot automatically regain its feet when it lands and add wings to let it glide like a real grasshopper while airborne. After that they hope to add solar panels, some simple sensors and a microprocessor. These would allow the robot to control its hopping and possibly communicate with other robots in the swarm, as well as recharge its battery..
Article Link: www.newscientist.com
Video Link: www.youtube.com
