Harvard Engineers Build 3-D Printed Autonomous Hopping Robot

Posted on July 9, 2015

Harvard engineers have developed a 3-D printed autonomous robot that moves around by hopping. The combustion-powered soft robot has a plunger-like body and three pneumatic legs. It also has some hard parts, such as its rigid core module. The researchers found that a robot that is soft and hard may have benefits over robots that are built from completely soft or only hard parts.

To move the hopping robot inflates its pneumatic legs and tilts its body in the direction it wants to go. Butane and oxygen are mixed and ignited and the robot is catapulted into the air. It can jump up to six times its body with vertical leaps.

Nicholas Bartlett, first author of the paper and a graduate student at at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), says in a statement, "The wonderful thing about soft robots is that they lend themselves nicely to abuse. The robot's stiffness gradient allows it to withstand the impact of dozens of landings and to survive the combustion event required for jumping. Consequently, the robot not only shows improved overall robustness but can locomote much more quickly than traditional soft robots."

The engineers say the part of the robot's body where it changes from hard to soft helps reduce stress on the robot's rigid electronic components. They also say creating the body's monolithic design in one print job increases the robot's strength and robustness. It also helps prevent dirt and dust get inside the robot. Take a look:

A research paper on the functionally graded soft robot was published here in the journal, Science.

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