Frogbots! Solar-powered, at that!

Dave Hrynkiw
December 15, 2000

I missed the full segment of this story last weeks on "Discovery Channel's @discovery.ca" program, but fortunately, the've put the segment online at their website. I seems that JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratories - NASA essentially) is working on a solar-powered, single-footed robot frog. This seems like a GREAT idea for extra-terrestrial planet-surface locomotion. Check out the videos and see for yourself. Additional information at Space.com Even more technical information is here and here, in these Adobe Acrobat files from one of the researchers, Paulo Fiorini. Here's his homepage. And this is his dedicated Frogbot hompage - lots of interesting info!

Oh, and if you scroll to the bottom of the Discovery Channel / EXN page, you'll find a nice video clip of our favorite Roboticist, Mark Tilden. They shot this a few years ago, and I'm glad to see they resurrected it to be on this page.

Read More...

MORE POSTS

October 9, 2009
What can you do with a GM15?

...oh, just save the Republic! Just got this note in from Rob Meyer, who is using 3 of our GM15 pager gearmotors to drive his 1/18 scale R2-D2. Given that the real R2-D2 measures 108cm tall, that makes this cute cousin only 6cm (2.36") tall! There's a GM15 for each of the drive wheels, and […]

June 9, 2006
Looking for something special to do this...

We thought what better to do then build a robot? So we have picked three of our kits that you can build with Dad (or a Son/Daughter). And, not only can you assemble these kits in an afternoon, they will look great showing them off at work on Monday! Never built a robot before? No […]

November 7, 2014
Friday New Product: eSun Filament, Push ...

Today we have a rainbow of colorful stuff, which apparently doesn't look anything like it at the moment, but believe me, it is. eSun 1.75mm PLA filament - 1kg Spool $30.00 1.75mm PLA filament for 3D printing. PLA is an excellent general purpose filament with a great finish, very rigid and biodegradable. eSun 1.75mm ABS […]

November 6, 2018
Canada Post Strike: Shipping Delay

Due to the current rotating strike for Canada Post employees, all orders placed with Canada post shipping in the last 2 days will experience a slight delay. To help alleviate this issue, any orders over $99.00 which currently ship with Canada Post will automatically be switched to UPS to avoid these delays even if you […]

Solarbotics Ltd Logo
Solarbotics has been operating for more than 25 years, bringing electronics know-how and supplies to both the electronics professional and hobbyist. We'll be happy to help you too!

Solarbotics, Ltd. is not responsible for misprints or errors on product prices or information. For more information, please see our Terms and Conditions.

Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.

Copyright © 2024 Solarbotics Ltd. All Rights Reserved
cart