The first robot capable of jumping like a grasshopper and rolling like a ball, can play a key role in future space explorations. The ‘Jollbot’ has been created by Rhodri Armor, a PhD student at the University of Bath. It is expected that his creation, which can jump over obstacles and roll like a ball on stable ground, can be used for space exploration work or study of land in the future.
One of the biggest challenges facing those robots designed for space exploration is being able to move on steep terrain. The robots with legs are usually very complex, expensive to build and control, and it is difficult to design them to be able to recover after falling. The wheels are a simpler solution, but limit the size of the obstacles that can be overcome.

To resolve this problem, Rhodri and his colleagues at the Center for Technology and Natural Miomimética have been looking for inspiration from nature to build a robot that was able to jump the obstacles that were in his way, as do the insects. The ‘Jollbot’ has a spherical shape, allowing you to shoot in any direction, giving the maneuverability of the wheels, but without the problem of being left embedded in a hole. In addition, the robot is small and flexible, weighing less than a kilogram, so that no damage when landing after jumping. Thus, a robot is far less expensive than conventional robots for exploration.

Mr. Armor explained that “others have made that jump robots or robots that roll, but we have managed to combine both worlds.” “In nature there are two basic types of jumps: the type done by kangaroos, which uses a thin and action of muscles, and type ‘stop and go,’ as that of the grasshoppers, in which muscles absorb and then release the energy in the form of jumping. Before you jump, the robot takes spherical shape, and when it is ready, the energy released at once, reaching heights of up to half a meter. ”