I’m fairly certain that the idea of jumping over an island has never crossed my mind in all my years of thinking. But if you’re a champion kitesurfer like Youri Zoon and you stumble across a small enough island, well, that’s just another day on the beach for you. Jumping the damn thing and nailing it is just how you live. Watch Zoon catch the perfect gust of wind and fly over an entire 120-foot island near New Caledonia. Sick.
Borderline supermen have been making crazy dives at the Earth since long before Felix Baumgarnter took a fall from space. Here are a pair of back-in-the-day badasses in a 1941 "Death Dive Race" to the ground. And looking back on it today they still seem as ballsy as ever.
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Jumping robots must really be in demand I guess. RHex uses six curved leg-scoops to propel the robot into some incredible jumps. This 15-pound machine can even hoist itself up a vertical wall that’s taller than itself.
The RHex robot has a simple yet rugged design too. It can be completely submerged in water. And those legs are perfect for swimming too. The video here also shows it hop precisely to the end of a platform so that its front legs can catch the edge and launch off for a long horizontal jump over a gap.
It’s also creepy as hell too, thanks to those legs. It’s like you are watching some oversize insect that you just want to take down before it evolves to kill you. Maybe that’s just me. I’m always thinking ahead to our eventual robopocalyptic downfall. I mean, this thing can jump, swim and climb. Where the hell can you hide from it?
[via Geek]
Move aside, Sand Flea, you’re not the only jumping robot in town. The researchers over at the University of Pennsylvania have taught their little six-legged X-RHex Light to make leaps and bounds as well, making it one of a few bots to both run and jump effectively. While it can’t spring as high as the Boston Dynamics critter, the X-RHex can cross gaps with not just a bound but a running gait, given enough room. It can also flip itself over, climb onto a ledge with a double hop and perform a leaping grab to something as high as 73 centimeters (28.74 inches). The X-RHex itself isn’t new; the curved-legged contraption has been around for at least a couple years, and even sported a cat-like tail for balance at one point. Still, the fact that the hefty 6.7 kilogram (14.8 pound) machine can now somersault through the air is a quite a victory, and one that reminds us of the impending robocalypse. Check the video below to see the bouncy guy in action.
Source: IEEE Spectrum
This is not Captain America, but it’s as close as you will ever get to feeling like a real superhero. His name is Robert Zackery, an he is a jumpmaster assigned to the USAF’s 4th Air Support Operations Group. More »
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