Robotic Aquatic Grasshopper Developed by Scientists

At Kiel University, a group of intelligent scientists led by Professor Stanislav N. Gorb are harnessing nature's most fascinating characteristics to create extraordinary robotic technology. They have been studying the unique abilities of insects, spiders, and geckos to adhere to surfaces, using their findings to develop innovative robot arms and adhesive tapes. 
 
Their latest project seems like something straight from a science fiction movie: a robot that can jump and swim, akin to a Chinese rice grasshopper. 
 
Native mostly around the Yangtze River in China, the Chinese rice grasshopper is quite an acrobat. Despite being terrestrial creatures, they show surprising proficiency in aquatic navigation; when submerged, they do not merely float but can swim or even leap out of water before taking flight. 
 
Intrigued by these capabilities, Professor Gorb's team collaborated with researchers from China, aiming at understanding these grasshoppers well enough so as to replicate their skills in robots. 
 
The research started with observing 15 such grasshoppers, each approximately as long and heavy as a few paperclips stacked together, within a large glass tank full of water. High-speed cameras were utilized for recording every tiny movement made by these little critters while swimming or jumping. After scrutinizing some 48 jumps and 54 swims captured on camera, they decoded exactly how the grasshoppers managed such fluid movements in water. 
 
The discovery was astounding! The grasshoppers leveraged water buoyancy much like humans use life jackets to stay afloat. For locomotion or leaping out of water, they manipulated the pushback force generated through precise kicking motions against it. 
 
This revelation was significant because typically animals (and robots emulating them) either skim across water due to its repellent effect or splash hard against it, both techniques having certain limitations when applied in robotics design contextually.The method used by these grasshoppers had not been fully explored until now, hence offering new possibilities for designing robots. 
 
The grasshoppers seemed to have mastered a unique technique of combining buoyancy with intelligent locomotion without the need for repelling water or wasting excessive energy in creating splashes. 
 
Inspired by these insights, Gorb's team designed and built a prototype robot that could replicate the swimming and jumping abilities of these grasshoppers. This was achieved through the varying limb movement speed of the robot. 
 
This innovation can revolutionize robotics design, especially those intended for water-based operations. Imagine rescue robots leaping across water bodies to reach inaccessible areas or environmental monitoring bots patrolling lakes without disturbing their ecosystems; the possibilities are infinite! 
 
This research is not just about developing extraordinary robots but also serves as a reminder about how much we can learn from nature. By studying animals like Chinese rice grasshoppers, scientists such as Professor Gorb and his team are paving new pathways in robotic design, proving that sometimes the best inspiration comes from observing the natural world around us.