An Insect-scale Untethered Laser-powered Jumping Microrobot

Abstract

We present the design of an insect-sized jumping microrobot measuring 17mm$\times$6mm$\times$14mm and weighing 75 milligrams. The microrobot consumes 6.4mW of power to jump up by 8mm in height. The tethered version of the robot can jump 6 times per minute each time landing perfectly on its feet. The untethered version of the robot is powered using onboard photovoltaic cells illuminated by an external infrared laser source. It is, to the best of our knowledge, the lightest untethered jumping microrobot with onboard power source that has been reported yet.