the engineers studied the mechanics behind the water strider, an insect that can easily jump upwards from a pond. It's an ability that's poorly understood in insects in general, so trying to recreate it in machines has the beneficial side effect of improving our understanding of the insects themselves.
The trick, according to an analysis of a high-speed film of water striders, is to push down on the water with the maximum velocity that the surface tension can take. The further the insect's leg pushes down, the greater the surface tension that builds under the leg and the better the upward jump. But if the leg pushes too far, the meniscus—the curved water surface—can't take it and gives way, allowing the leg to sink.
To leap joyfully from a pond, then, it's necessary to find the optimal balance: push down hard enough to make maximum use of the surface tension, but not so hard that you rupture it. The water strider seems to do this by rotating its middle and hind legs, rather than just pushing them downwards, which keeps its legs in contact with the water for longer, giving it more time to interact with the surface and build momentum.
Next up, dynamic brachiation?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2015, @09:41PM
They tried Windoze, but after a BSOD it had an epileptic seizure.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2015, @09:57PM
Hey, fuckwit. You know the "doze" in Windoze refers to a DOS heritage that Windows hasn't been based upon for the past fifteen years, right? Upgrade your fucking insult to NT already.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2015, @10:33PM
Er, Um... Deep in the code it's still DOS.