Abstract
In nature, many small insects are using jumping as a survival strategy. Among them, fleas jump in a unique method. They use an elastomer, 'Resilin', an extensor muscle and a trigger muscle. By contracting the extensor muscle, the elastic energy, that makes a flea to jump, is stored in the resilin. After storing energy, the trigger muscle begins contracting and pulling the extensor muscle. When the extensor muscle crosses the rotational joint, direction of torque generated from the extensor muscle reverses, 'torque reversal mechanism'. Simultaneously, the elastic energy stored in the resilin releases rapidly and is converted into the kinetic energy. It makes a flea to jump 150 times its body length. In this paper, miniaturized jumping robot using flea-inspired catapult mechanism is presented. This mechanism is based on the 4-bar linkage and the reversal joint and is actuated by Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) coiled springs describing the flea's muscle. The robot prototype is fabricated by SCM process using glass fiber prepregs and a sheet of polyimide film. The prototype is 20mm link length, 34mm width and 2.0g weight and can jump 103cm.
