Jumping efficiency of small creatures and its applicability in robotics

Abstract

Among different motion gaits, jumping is a quick and efficient locomotion for advancing in rough, uneven or unpredicted terrains, used by a variety of animals. As the muscle power generation is proportional to its cross-sectional area, small-scale jumpers suffer from power limitation in their tiny muscles. To overcome this barrier, nature created special mechanisms inside these jumpers that are able to propel them to very impressive ranges with respect to their own size. The governing principle is loading energy into elastic elements, and at the right time releasing it as quickly as possible. Researchers designing miniature artificial jumping mechanisms for improving small-scale robots mobility, face similar power limitations of motors and batteries. The very same principles used by small-scale jumpers are implemented in the bio-inspired artificial mechanisms, and are utilized in jumping robots. In this work, a jumping robot implementing bio-inspired principles, is presented.