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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →A small research robot can hop, flip and swim by using twisted elastic rods that snap between shapes. The snap stores energy gradually and releases it in a brief burst, allowing a motor-driven prototype to make forceful movements. The demonstrations include travel over several surfaces and swimming with flexible fins, but they do not establish that it can reliably hop across wet ground—or that it is a product for sale.
How the frog-like robot moves
The robot’s propulsion comes from elastic rods shaped into helical limbs. A motor gradually bends and twists each rod. At a geometry-dependent point, the rod snaps into another shape, releasing stored elastic energy as a quick push. The motor can then reset the limb for another cycle.
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The key is not simply making a rod bend. The researchers studied how combinations of bending and twisting affect whether an elastic rod deforms gradually or snaps rapidly. Their computational models and physical deformation experiments informed the robot’s rod geometry and the point at which it releases energy. This lets a relatively low-power motor trigger a short, forceful movement rather than supply the whole burst of motion directly.
UCLA Samueli associate professor Khalid Jawed said the relevant design rules depend on rod shape rather than size, suggesting they may apply across scales. That is a statement about the underlying design principle, not evidence that the demonstrated robot has already been scaled up or down.
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What the prototype demonstrated
UCLA Samueli Newsroom describes the prototype as 11 centimeters long and 98.2 grams. The university reports that it hopped over wood, cloth, acrylic, leather, grass and sand; climbed steps; and performed repeated backflips. In a separate water demonstration, researchers attached thin, flexible fins to the same robot.
| Demonstration | Reported result | What the figure describes |
|---|---|---|
| Hopping across six tested terrains | 2.46 body lengths per second on average | Mean reported across the six surfaces; not a general speed guarantee for other terrain or conditions. |
| Hopping on wood | 3.21 body lengths per second | Reported peak speed on wood. |
| Rigid-legged comparator | 0.79 body lengths per second | Reported result for the comparator in the terrain tests. |
| Swimming with flexible fins | About 0.5 body lengths per second | Reported swimming speed; the robot also turned and navigated around obstacles while exposed to wind disturbance. |
All speeds in the table are figures reported by UCLA Samueli Newsroom in 2026. Body lengths per second expresses travel speed relative to the robot’s length; it is not a speed in meters per second. The available university coverage does not provide the full measurement definitions or experimental protocol, so these results should be read as outcomes of the reported demonstrations rather than as standardized comparisons with other robots.
Rank #2
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Does it hop across wet surfaces?
The reported terrain list includes cloth, grass, sand and other surfaces, but the coverage does not say those tests were wet or establish how the robot performs on slick, water-covered ground. The swimming demonstration is distinct: fins were attached for movement in water, and the reported speed was about 0.5 body lengths per second. So the evidence supports hopping across several tested surfaces and swimming in a separate configuration—not a specific claim that it hops across wet surfaces.
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The team teleoperated the robot through a sandbox containing rock obstacles. It also demonstrated simple autonomous steering using light sensors. These show remote operation and a limited sensor-guided behavior; they do not establish general-purpose autonomous navigation.
Rank #3
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Who built it, and can you buy one?
The research was co-led by UCLA’s Khalid Jawed and University of Michigan assistant professor Xiaonan (Sean) Huang. Dezhong Tong and Jiaqi Wang are identified as co-first authors. UCLA reports that the work received National Science Foundation funding. The study is titled “Geometry-controlled instability pathway selection in elastic helices enables fast, efficient robotic locomotion” and is identified by Michigan as a Science Advances paper.
The university reports describe a research demonstration, not a consumer robot or ready-to-build kit. Michigan’s diagram labels mini servos and a LiPo battery, but the available coverage does not specify an exact servo model or a complete bill of materials. Those labels are not enough to reproduce the robot or its performance from off-the-shelf parts alone.
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Best Value
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