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 24, 2011
RC Brutusbot n' Communication Stuff

Help! It's getting colder outside and the trees are starting to shed all over everything. It's quite a mess. It's pretty, but a mess all the same. So we did what anyone would do in such circumstances - we made a small DIY tank platform wirelessly controllable, released a new breakout board, and put together […]

November 20, 2024
Active-Tech November Sale!

We've been busy cataloging stuff we'd love to blow out, and we're offering great discounts. 3D printing, tools, kits - take a look and come on in! It's in-store only at our Active-Tech location here in Calgary! Sale starts Friday November 22 2024!

May 3, 2006
New Pogo Push Probes in stock

I can't imagine why, but some people want to use these push pogo pins for other uses than robot appendages. Or battery contacts. Apparently they're really good for something called "JTAG applications" too, but I'll leave that up to you to decide. Scroll down to see them listed in the "New Items" column.

April 13, 2018
News: ActiveTech Electronics Calgary is ...

After over 25 years in the same location, it’s time to move on. Since having acquired ActiveTech last June, Solarbotics come to the conclusion we’ll be much better to merging operations under one roof. We’ll drop some product lines, but add a bunch of new ones at that time. Expect a store packed to the rafters with electronic parts and solutions! […]

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.