introducing salto-1p, the miniature robot whose jumping function gives it the energy of a hyper-aggressive pogo-stick. created by UC berkeley’s biomimetic millisystems lab, salto, short for ‘saltatorial locomotion on terrain obstacles,’ is designed to mimic saltatorial – jumping – animals like kangaroos and rabbits.

this hyper-aggressive pogo-stick jumping robot demonstrates studies of extreme locomotion
all images © biomimetic millisystems lab/UC berkeley

 

 

salto-1P uses a small motor and a system of linkages and gears to jump, making little contact with the ground. whilst in the air, it uses a rotating inertial tail and two little thrusters to stabilize and reorient itself in between jumps.

videos by IEEE spectrum

 

 

originally, salto was able to control its pitch through the use of a rotating inertial tail. by spinning the tail one way, the robot could launch into a different direction. weighing in at only at only 98 grams, it harnesses enough power to give it the highest vertical jumping agility of any battery powered robot at 1.83 m/s. unfortunately, even with its most recent updates, the jumping robot’s extreme saltatorial skills are the cause of its demise (see the video).