A hybrid robot that can both hop and fly has been developed by a team of engineers from City University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

To develop this hybrid robot, dubbed Hopcopter, the team attached a spring-loaded telescopic leg — much like a pogo stick — to the underside of a quadcopter, enabling the robot to hop, when necessary. To alternate between hopping and flying, the team added stabilizing capabilities to its design.

Source: Songnan Bai, Runze Ding, Song Li, and Bingxuan Pu

The researchers explained that the addition of the hopping capability reportedly reduced battery drain on the quadcopter, thereby allowing for longer flight times. Further, this capability also enabled the enhanced quadcopter to carry much heavier payloads because the new design does not demand that the payload is kept aloft.

In addition to hopping from location to location, the Hopcopter can also reportedly take flight mid-hop, flying as a standard quadcopter. During trials of the Hopcopter, the researchers found that the robot could also hop on uneven terrain, even hopping horizontally, thereby serving as a bumper-like device that prevents damage in the event the Hopcopter runs into a wall or other structure.

The researchers explain that the Hopcopter could potentially be used to monitor wildlife, disaster areas or serve as a farm monitor.

An article detailing the Hopcopter, “An agile monopedal hopping quadcopter with synergistic hybrid locomotion,” appears in the journal Science Robotics.

For more on the Hopcopter, watch the accompanying video that appears courtesy of Songnan Bai, Runze Ding, Song Li, and Bingxuan Pu from City University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.