Researchers develop jumping robot to explore Moon

Daily Mail : Scientists in Japan are designing a robot to explore the Moonby jumping as if on a pogo stick. Moving on the Moon can be hard work: Humans trying to walk struggle with the lesser gravity, and rovers running on wheels can get stuck in the sand. So lead researcher Atsuo Takanishi at Waseda University in Tokyo and colleagues have developed software simulations showing a robot that uses thrusters to lift it off the ground and land on both feet. They have yet to determine the exact height that works besttoo high puts too much stress on the robot’s legs; too low makes it move too slow. Their work was presented at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics in Tianjin, China.