A Miniature Jumping Robot Using Froghopper’s Direction-Changing Concept

To improve the maneuverability and agility of jumping robots, a variety of steerable jumping mechanisms have been actively studied. The steering ability enables a robot to reach a particular target by altering its jumping direction. To make this possible, we propose a miniature steerable jumping rob...

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Main Authors: Dong-Jun Lee, Gwang-Pil Jung
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Biomimetics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/10/5/264
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author Dong-Jun Lee
Gwang-Pil Jung
author_facet Dong-Jun Lee
Gwang-Pil Jung
author_sort Dong-Jun Lee
collection DOAJ
description To improve the maneuverability and agility of jumping robots, a variety of steerable jumping mechanisms have been actively studied. The steering ability enables a robot to reach a particular target by altering its jumping direction. To make this possible, we propose a miniature steerable jumping robot based on froghopper’s jumping principle: Moment cancellation is achieved via synchronous leg rotation, and a predictable jumping direction is achieved through an almost zero stiffness femoro-tibial joint. To satisfy these working principles, the robot is designed to have a four-bar shaped body structure and wire-driven knee joints. The four-bar body always synchronizes the leg operation by mechanically coupling the two jumping legs, which enables the robot to cancel out the moments and finally reduce the needless body spin. The knee joints are actuated using wires, and the wires are kept loose to maintain joint stiffness almost zero during take-off. Accordingly, the jumping direction is successfully predicted to determine the initial posture of the tibia. As a result, the proposed robot can change the jumping direction from −20 degrees to 20 degrees while reducing needless body spin.
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spelling doaj-art-a8ea775bb52443f7b67131339bf405e42025-08-20T02:33:43ZengMDPI AGBiomimetics2313-76732025-04-0110526410.3390/biomimetics10050264A Miniature Jumping Robot Using Froghopper’s Direction-Changing ConceptDong-Jun Lee0Gwang-Pil Jung1Department of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul 01811, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul 01811, Republic of KoreaTo improve the maneuverability and agility of jumping robots, a variety of steerable jumping mechanisms have been actively studied. The steering ability enables a robot to reach a particular target by altering its jumping direction. To make this possible, we propose a miniature steerable jumping robot based on froghopper’s jumping principle: Moment cancellation is achieved via synchronous leg rotation, and a predictable jumping direction is achieved through an almost zero stiffness femoro-tibial joint. To satisfy these working principles, the robot is designed to have a four-bar shaped body structure and wire-driven knee joints. The four-bar body always synchronizes the leg operation by mechanically coupling the two jumping legs, which enables the robot to cancel out the moments and finally reduce the needless body spin. The knee joints are actuated using wires, and the wires are kept loose to maintain joint stiffness almost zero during take-off. Accordingly, the jumping direction is successfully predicted to determine the initial posture of the tibia. As a result, the proposed robot can change the jumping direction from −20 degrees to 20 degrees while reducing needless body spin.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/10/5/264bio-inspired robotjumping robotdirection changefroghopper
spellingShingle Dong-Jun Lee
Gwang-Pil Jung
A Miniature Jumping Robot Using Froghopper’s Direction-Changing Concept
Biomimetics
bio-inspired robot
jumping robot
direction change
froghopper
title A Miniature Jumping Robot Using Froghopper’s Direction-Changing Concept
title_full A Miniature Jumping Robot Using Froghopper’s Direction-Changing Concept
title_fullStr A Miniature Jumping Robot Using Froghopper’s Direction-Changing Concept
title_full_unstemmed A Miniature Jumping Robot Using Froghopper’s Direction-Changing Concept
title_short A Miniature Jumping Robot Using Froghopper’s Direction-Changing Concept
title_sort miniature jumping robot using froghopper s direction changing concept
topic bio-inspired robot
jumping robot
direction change
froghopper
url https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/10/5/264
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AT gwangpiljung aminiaturejumpingrobotusingfroghoppersdirectionchangingconcept
AT dongjunlee miniaturejumpingrobotusingfroghoppersdirectionchangingconcept
AT gwangpiljung miniaturejumpingrobotusingfroghoppersdirectionchangingconcept