I think the most interesting thing about this robot is how it maneuvers while in flight. If you watch closely, you will see that the robot stabilizes into the 'flat' configuration before reaching the apex of its flight. Without stabilization, it would simply tumble end-over-end.<p>I believe the robot uses its wheels as reaction wheels, adding the proper torques to the tumbling body to cancel out longitudinal angular velocities. There are not enough controls to cancel out rolling, if it launches wrong. The robot would need an internal lateral reaction wheel or CMG cluster for that.
This is a pretty cool robot and one I intend to copy at my earliest convenience! If they combine it with the Van der waal's [1] adhesion effect then you have a robot that should be a really good urban navigator.<p>Funny story, I designed a robot based on the hopping principle for the first DARPA challenge (the one where you were in the desert trying to go from Barstow to Las Vegas) except that we ran into issues with the ground being too soft in places to reliably jump. And the fact that we had an on board compressor which both weighed too much and took too long to recharge the jump tanks, but other than that :-)<p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_der_Waals_force" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_der_Waals_force</a>
I should caveat subsequent comments by saying that I would have given my childhood for this toy (and therein I would have learnt the meaning of irony too, but I digress).<p>Anyway I am wondering what this could really be intended for. If it is indeed meant to carry a camera payload for cheap soldier surveillance, then I have an alternative suggestion: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Parrot-AR-Drone-Quadricopter-Controlled-Android/dp/B003ZVSHB0" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Parrot-AR-Drone-Quadricopter-Controlle...</a>. This $298 quad-copter with two mounted cameras seems like it could do the job just fine. (Incidentally on the subject of cheap RC toys saving soldiers' lives and proving themselves viable short-term options: <a href="http://www.rccaraction.com/blog/2011/08/04/traxxas-rc-truck-saves-soldiers-lives-in-afghanistan/" rel="nofollow">http://www.rccaraction.com/blog/2011/08/04/traxxas-rc-truck-...</a>). Anyway, especially with Petman (<a href="http://www.bostondynamics.com/robot_petman.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.bostondynamics.com/robot_petman.html</a>) purportedly being for chemical suit testing (which in my opinion is like saying crash dummies need to have guns and machine vision), Boston Dynamics has shown that it likes releasing potentially mid-path projects for other-than-ultimately-intended purposes (makes perfect sense from a testing perspective). So I wonder what Sand Flea could be working towards other than surveillance? 11 lbs./30 ft is not bad considering a quad copter of similar size would be probably max 4-6 lbs. So maybe they are gearing it up for heavier payloads. Nothing like the 400 lbs alpha dog carries (at that point, assuming similar tech, the Sand Flea would have to be big enough to basically just roll over single-story buildings), but perhaps an explosive payload or something in the neighborhood of 10-20 lbs.
Fantastic news, we are now one step closer to Pirate Bot / Wireless Internet Broadcasting robot that can circumvent internet shutdowns.<p>As regulations clamp down on internet free speech and authorities give themselves the power to administer internet blackouts during protests. This is the best way to respond in order to re-balance power back to democracies and people.<p>Now we need to make it a bit bigger and start working on the rechargeable battery pack, solar panel, kinect 3d camera, gps, and long range wireless router (the longest range wireless router allowable by law is a 1 watt router with a 1,200 foot range called Bountiful Router) but I'm sure you can extend the range much further with an illegal hacked version, and use repeater units to send signals further.<p>Basically a rogue mars-rover for Earth that sends out pirate signals. The future is horrifyingly awesome.
I wonder how it determines the height to see if it can leap or not.<p>I would think also it could be engineered to climb the side of the building by simply creating a triangle shape and motoring up the side or with some kind of suction.
Their RHex bot is pretty impressive too: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISznqY3kESI" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISznqY3kESI</a>