A small research robot can hop across varied surfaces and swim by winding its flexible, helical limbs until they snap into a new shape. That snap releases stored elastic energy in a short burst, turning a gradual movement from a relatively low-power motor into a forceful push. The UCLA and University of Michigan prototype is a laboratory demonstration, not a robot currently established as a product for sale.
How the frog-like robot produces a hop
The robot’s propulsion comes from the shape and deformation of elastic rods, rather than from a conventional rigid leg simply pushing against the ground. Researchers studied how rods behave under combined bending and twisting, using computational models and physical experiments. Depending on their geometry, rods may deform smoothly or suddenly snap between shapes.
In the robot, a motor gradually winds helical elastic limbs. As a limb approaches its snap point, it stores elastic energy; when it snaps, that energy is released rapidly to propel the robot. The motor can then reset the limb for another cycle. This is a way for a relatively low-power motor to trigger a brief, stronger movement, rather than supplying the full force continuously. The researchers’ study is titled “Geometry-controlled instability pathway selection in elastic helices enables fast, efficient robotic locomotion.”
What the prototype demonstrated on land
UCLA Samueli’s 2026 report describes the prototype as 11 centimeters long and 98.2 grams. The team tested it on wood, cloth, acrylic, leather, grass and sand, and also demonstrated climbing steps and repeated backflips. Those demonstrations show the mechanism working across several test settings; they do not establish performance on every wet or slippery surface.
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Across the six reported terrains, the snap-actuated robot averaged 2.46 body lengths per second. UCLA reported a peak of 3.21 body lengths per second on wood. A rigid-legged comparator averaged 0.79 body lengths per second in the reported tests. These are the university announcement’s results for the tested configurations, not a general speed guarantee: the underlying paper’s measurement definitions and full experimental protocol are not independently established by the available source coverage.
How it swims and navigates
With thin, flexible fins attached, the same robot swam at about 0.5 body lengths per second, according to UCLA’s report. The team demonstrated turning and navigating around obstacles while the robot was subject to wind disturbance. The robot was also teleoperated through a sandbox containing rock obstacles, and the researchers showed simple autonomous steering with light sensors. These are distinct demonstrations: the report does not establish broad autonomous operation in real-world environments.
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What is—and is not—known about availability
The UCLA and Michigan coverage describes a research prototype and does not establish that it is commercially available or sold as a ready-to-build kit. Michigan’s diagram labels mini servos and a LiPo battery, but the reports do not provide an exact servo model, a complete compatible parts list, or instructions showing that those components alone reproduce the robot.
The project was co-led by UCLA’s Khalid Jawed and the University of Michigan’s Xiaonan (Sean) Huang; Dezhong Tong and Jiaqi Wang are identified as co-first authors. UCLA reports National Science Foundation funding. The university reports explain the mechanism and demonstrations, while details such as sample counts, uncertainty and full methods require the journal paper’s complete experimental record.
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