Hasta La Gadget!

A robot with a tail is not exactly new, as we have seen the likes of it before in the past such as the X-RHex Lite robot. Well, this time around, here is a new take on a robot with a tail, where it has been aptly known as the TailBot, which also holds the distinction of being possibly the only miniature robot that can run, jump and maneuver mid-air, where all of it is made possible because it comes equipped with a tail.

Jianguo Zhao, a doctoral student in electrical engineering at Michigan State University, who also happens to be one of the MSU students who developed the TailBot, said, “When lizards jump up, they use the tail to control the body’s orientation. Because we wanted to design a robot like that, we borrowed ideas from biology to see if we can mimic the abilities found in those animals.” The tail will move to shift the center of gravity of the robot mid-flight, giving it a far higher chance of landing correctly. Despite measuring 3” in height, the TailBot can spring to over 30” into the air, now how about that for a high level of performance? Majority of the TailBot’s pieces were constructed using a 3D printer.

TailBot Robot Leaps With Ease original content from Ubergizmo.

Check out this video from grad students at Michigan State University — it starts off a bit slowly, but it quickly picks up steam. It’s a testament to the power of the robotic tail (not the first we’ve seen of that variety, incidentally), showing a 7.5-centimeter tall ‘bot that can move, jump and maneuver in the air. Inspired by an article published in Nature last year, Tailbot’s titular appendage lets it land on the correct side, stand up and lie down. Check out a video of the tiny adventurer after the break.

Filed under: Robots, Alt

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