Technology
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This tiny robot may not look like much, but it's constructed using only 3D-printed materials to hop just like a frog via carefully controlled butane and oxygen explosions.
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Created by the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the robot’s design was “inspired by nature,” curiously and specifically “part-frog, part-snake, part-insect-larva.”
With a soft, flexible body to cushion its landings and inflatable legs for more accurate jumps, this robot has the distinct advantage of being more precise than robots built using only inflexible materials.
Check out the video below to see this endearing frog-like device in action.
[H/T: Science]
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