Somersault simulation for jumping robots

In recent years engineers have been developing new technologies to enable robots and humans to move faster and jump higher. Soft, elastic materials store energy in these devices, which, if released carefully, enable elegant dynamic motions. Robots leap over obstacles and prosthetics empower sprinting. A fundamental challenge remains in developing these technologies. Scientists spend long hours building and testing prototypes that can reliably move in specific ways so that, for example, a robot lands right-side up upon landing a jump. A pair of new computational methods developed by a team of researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Toronto and Adobe Research takes first steps towards automating the design of the dynamic mechanisms behind these movements.