Book 15, Question 71
How Can a Robot Jump or Hop?
A jumping robot stores energy in a spring, then lets it go all at once! A motor squeezes the spring slowly, and a latch releases it in an instant. The robot springs into the air.
More fun facts
- A jumping robot can use a small, light motor to slowly load a large spring.
- An animal's muscle can only tense and release once per jump.
- A latch holds the stored energy, then releases it to fling the robot into the air.
- One 30-centimeter-tall robot can spring more than 30 meters up, about the height of a 10-story building.
- That's 100 times its own height.
- The best animal jumper, a small primate called the galago, jumps about 2.3 meters from a standstill.
Sources: Scientific American, Science News Explores
Questions kids ask
How high can a robot jump?
One 30-centimeter-tall robot can spring more than 30 meters up, about the height of a 10-story building.