From biomimetics to energy resilience: new perspectives on robots inspired by insect jumping in the focus article published in Science Robotics

They jump with surprising power and recharge themselves by directly exploiting their interaction with the environment. These two characteristics, when combined, could lead to a new generation of miniaturised robots inspired by insects. In the focus article “Jump, Recharge, Repeat: Insect-Inspired Jumping Robots and the Challenge of Energy Harvesting”, published in the journal Science Robotics, Donato Romano, associate professor at the Biorobotics Institute at the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, explores the new frontiers of biomimetic robotics, in particular the development of small-scale robots that, thanks to their energy autonomy, can be decisive in remote, hostile or difficult-to-reach application scenarios.
The study highlights how nature is increasingly a unique source of inspiration for designing high-performance systems. Insects, thanks to their ability to store elastic energy and release it explosively, can make incredible jumps relative to their size. Reproducing these principles in compact robots has made it possible to create agile, fast devices capable of overcoming obstacles that would stop traditional systems, immediately demonstrating the power of biomimetics and its potential.

The new frontier of miniaturised robotics: energy autonomy

In addition to locomotive performance, the work addresses a crucial issue for the future of robotics applied to exploration, especially on a small scale: energy autonomy. Jumping robots require high power peaks, which are difficult to sustain with miniaturised batteries. To overcome this limitation, research is integrating energy harvesting technologies capable of transforming light, vibrations, shocks or radio waves into useful energy to recharge the system. Solutions such as triboelectric nanogenerators, piezoelectric materials and solar microcells have already been tested, paving the way for robots capable of storing energy between jumps.

Application scenarios

This combination of extreme mobility and the ability to “refuel” from the environment suggests particularly innovative application scenarios: from exploring planetary surfaces to monitoring complex ecosystems, to gathering information in operational scenarios where human access is limited or risky. The prospect is that of systems that can operate autonomously for long periods of time and perhaps function in swarms, collaborating as real micro-teams of explorers.
While challenges remain (material resistance, miniaturisation of energy devices, integration of low-consumption intelligent algorithms), the picture outlined by the study shows a transformation in progress: jumping robots are becoming mature tools, capable of combining efficiency, robustness and autonomy in an extremely compact format.
This line of development, due to its spectacular and innovative nature, draws attention to an area of robotics that promises to change the way we explore, monitor, understand and protect the world around us.