BounceBot: A One-Legged Jumping Robot

Abstract

This paper describes the design and development of a jumping robot made from readily available components and 3D printed parts. This robot is designed to traverse obstacles that are too large for conventional locomotion methods, utilising elastic potential energy to store and release kinetic energy at differing rates. Rapidly releasing built up energy in this manner enables a small light-weight actuator to exceed its continuous torque output. This is used to accelerate the robot vertically and jump over an obstacle up to ten times its own height. Use of soft 3D printed materials allow for the robot to resist the impact caused by landing onto/jumping into obstacles. Due to its performance and availability/cost of its parts, this prototype provides a good platform for further research into this viable yet under-developed locomotion method. As the design is open source, researchers are free to use the details contained in this report along with the documentation available online. The concept can be used in a range of situations involving locomotion over uneven terrain. Potential projects include hazardous disaster site evaluation, planet exploration, and search and rescue.