UC Santa Barbara Hawkes Lab with Disney Research and Caltech (USA) UCSB 30-Meter Jumper (1)

Not soldResearch device published in Nature (April 2022).

Not for sale (research)Not programmableResearchRecord jumpWork multiplication

Not soldShipping: N/A. Not available; a university research device.

Remote control: Not possible. A single-purpose research device with no control interface.

Overview

Holds the record for the highest jump of any known jumper, engineered or biological, at roughly 30 m. The paper argues engineered jumpers should invert biology's design, using a tiny motor that 'multiplies work' over many rotations into a very large spring, instead of a big muscle with a small tendon. The team calculated the same device could clear about 125 m high and 500 m forward on the Moon. It is a mechanism rather than a steerable robot, but it resets expectations for hopping explorers.

Specifications

Category	Jumpers & hoppers · Jumping & hopping robots
Released	2022
Availability	Not for sale (research)
Programmability	No programmability
Best for	Professionals & labs
Vision sensors	No vision sensors
Actuators	DC / gear motors
Audio	No audio
Compute type	No on-board computer
Remote control	Not programmable
Size	About 30 cm tall, 30 g
Locomotion	Motor-driven spindle slowly winds a hybrid spring (carbon-fiber compression bows plus rubber bands in tension); a minimal latch releases it; legs fold in flight to cut drag
Compute	None described; a small motor and batteries wind the string for about 2 minutes, and the final turn trips a mechanical latch
Camera	None
Sensors	None
Runtime	Single jump per wind-up
Speed	0 to 28 m/s (about 60 mph) in about 9 ms; jumps over 30 m (about 33 m, roughly 100 ft)
SDK	None