Design and Optimization of a Miniature Locust-Inspired Stable Jumping Robot

Jumping is a key locomotion for miniature robots, but it is difficult for a robot to jump a long distance without flipping. To solve this problem, we develop a miniature locust-inspired jumping robot, which has a body length of 10 cm and weight of 60 g. On the basis of the extracted skeletal muscle movement of a locust, we make full use of the Stephenson six-bar mechanism in designing a jumping leg to achieve power amplification. Moreover, we carry out a two-step optimization of the mechanism parameters to achieve high jumping energy (first step) through optimizing the storage and dissipation of energy and then high jumping stability (second step) through optimizing the force characteristics. A series of experimental tests show that the robot can jump to a height three times its body length and a distance seven times its body length. Remarkably, the jumping height and distance relative to the body length of our jumper exceeds that of other robots with stable mechanisms by 30% and 33%, respectively. Meanwhile, our robot has a high degree of stability, which allows it to maintain a proper aerial orientation without flipping.