Jump! 3D-Printed Hopping Robot Leaps into the Air Without Damage

First Posted: Jul 09, 2015 10:33 PM EDT

A 3D-printed robot could herald a new age of robotics. Researchers have created the first ever robot with a printed body that transitions from a rigid core to a soft exterior. Not only that, but the robot is capable of more than 30 untethered jumps and is powered by a mix of butane and oxygen.

"We believe that bringing together soft and rigid materials will help create a new generation of fast, agile robots that are more robust and adaptable than their predecessors and can safely work side by side with humans," said Michael Tolley, one of the researchers, in a news release. "In nature, complexity has a very low cost. Using new manufacturing techniques like 3D printing, we're trying to translate this to robotics."

Soft robots tend to be slow, especially when accomplishing tasks without being tethered to power sources and other electronics. Rigid components, though, can be integrated within soft robots and cause them to move faster without compromising the safety of the humans who work with them.

In the case of this robot, rigid layers make for a better interface with the device's electronic brains and power sources. The soft layers also make it less vulnerable to damage when it lands after jumping. The bottom half of the robot is flexible and includes a small chamber where oxygen and butane are injected before it jumps. After the gases are ignited, this half behaves very much like a basketball that gets inflated almost instantaneously, propelling the robot into a jump.

This 3D-printed robot could be huge in terms of robotics in the future. The researchers hope to further explore and expand the field of biologically inspired robots in coming years.

The findings are published in the journal Science.

Want to learn more? Check out the video below, courtesy of YouTube.