Wang Xin, Xia Neng, Pan Chengfeng, Zhao Jinsheng, Hao Bo, Su Lin, Jin Dongdong, Xu Qingsong, Liu Xurui, Hou Xingyu, Zhang Li
Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, 999077, P.R. China.
The State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, College of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310027, P.R. China.
Nat Commun. 2025 Mar 28;16(1):3034. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-58096-8.
Water surface jumping motions of semi-aquatic insects are primarily rely on surface tension-dominated jumping mechanism to achieve impressive jumping performance. However, this mechanism faces an inherent physical constraint: the propulsion force must remain below the threshold required to break the water surface, limiting efficient momentum acquisition. Herein, we present a water surface jumping strategy that addresses the limitations of surface tension-dominated mechanism. Our approach allows the engineered jumper to achieve a record-breaking jumping height of 18 body lengths (63 cm) and take-off velocity of 100.6 body length/s (3.52 m/s). This strategy is built on three key design principles: (I) superhydrophobic body for floating on water surface, (II) light-weight, high-power actuation module capable of providing significant propulsion force within an ultrashort time, (III) well-engineered momentum transmission system for efficient kinetic energy transfer. The developed soft jumper based on these design principles advances the development of water environment related robotics.
半水生昆虫的水面跳跃运动主要依靠以表面张力为主导的跳跃机制来实现令人印象深刻的跳跃性能。然而，这种机制面临着一个固有的物理限制：推进力必须保持在打破水面所需的阈值以下，这限制了有效动量的获取。在此，我们提出了一种水面跳跃策略，以解决以表面张力为主导的机制的局限性。我们的方法使设计的跳跃者能够达到破纪录的18倍体长（63厘米）的跳跃高度和100.6倍体长/秒（3.52米/秒）的起飞速度。该策略基于三个关键设计原则：（I）用于漂浮在水面上的超疏水主体；（II）能够在极短时间内提供显著推进力的轻质、高功率驱动模块；（III）精心设计的动量传输系统，用于高效的动能传递。基于这些设计原则开发的软质跳跃者推动了水环境相关机器人技术的发展。
