Young Observers

Space News - Leaping into the future: One hop at a time

A small hopping robot with froglike abilities that moves by a combination of rolls and hops to its desired destination may someday hop a ride to an asteroid and leap its way to other planets in the search for water.  The frogbot, featured as the "robot of the month" in the Robot Watch news section of Discover Magazine's December, 2000 issue, weighs only 3 pounds and is powered by a single motor. It is equipped with a camera, solar panels, sensors and onboard computer that gives commands to itself, making the robot ideally suitable for exploration of distant planets, comets and asteroids.

"Hopping is a more efficient form of transportation in low-gravity environments," said Dr. Paolo Fiorini, an engineer in the robotics group at JPL. "Our hopping robot performs much like a frog, except that it only has one leg and no tongue. It has a spring between its knees that makes it bend its legs and hop. When the spring releases, the frogbot takes a 1.8-meter (6-foot) hop on Earth, which could become a 6- meter (20-foot) leap under low-gravity conditions on planets like Mars, depending on terrain."

Engineers believe that in low-gravity environments, such as small planets, and in micro-gravity environments, such as asteroids, wheels successfully used on rovers may not be the most efficient form of locomotion. In experiments, slithering, rolling and hopping have been shown to be better propulsion.

The hopping robot technology will be ready in about three to five years and could help scientists capture images and collect ground samples. One of the major challenges facing engineers is precision navigation necessary to control the hopping robot. Engineers are also developing a hopper that adheres and climbs vertical walls and are testing prototypes on different ground terrains.

This page last modified: January 15, 2001 For comments or suggestions on this planet page, please write to Debra Tigner or Chris Teron