[chbot] ‘Sand Flea’ Robot Jumps 30 Feet

[WHW]

‘Sand Flea’ Robot Jumps 30 Feet

http://mashable.com/2012/03/31/sand-flea-robot/
http://www.bostondynamics.com/robot_sandflea.html
http://www.bostondynamics.com/img/SandFlea%20Datasheet%20v1_0.pdf

Ths flea is quite a bit more powerful than the ones on mangy mutts.

Robotics company Boston Dynamics created an 
11-pound robot called the “Sand Flea” that can 
jump 30 feet in the air and is equipped with an infrared camera.

“The robot uses gyro stabilization to stay level 
during flight, to provide a clear view from the 
onboard camera, and to ensure a smooth landing,” notes its website.

This video shows the robot in action — jumping 
onto a one story building and straight up the 
side of a dirt hill. The Sand Flea’s name hints 
as the bot’s capabilities — it can move 
undetected and close to the ground while 
springing up into the air to jump onto higher ground.

The bot has enough energy to jump 25 times and 
last two hours using its fuel supply and piston 
actuator. The controller can choose how high and 
at what angle the Sand Flea jumps, while the 
bot’s four wheels cushion its landing.

The project was funded by DARPA, JIEDDO (Joint 
Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization) 
and the U.S. Army’s Rapid Equipping Force. The 
video notes that an earlier version of the Sand 
Flea was developed by Sandia National Labs.

The U.S. Army is stocking up on all kinds of 
small robots. In early March, JIEDDO, which 
operates under the Department of Defense and 
seeks to locate IED threats, ordered 105 small 
robots, similar to the Sand Flea, from iRobot 
Corp. In February, the U.S. Army placed its 
largest order of micro-robots ever with the 
company ReconRobotics in a contract for $13.9 
million of small bots that will be used for 
surveillance purposes with soldiers overseas.