Zippy isn’t just another small robot – it’s a compact powerhouse designed at Carnegie Mellon University with support from the National Science Foundation. At under 1.5 inches tall (about the size of a LEGO figure), it neatly houses a battery, actuator, and a control unit, making it ideally suited for spaces where larger machines just can’t go.
Engineered by experts Aaron Johnson and Sarah Bergbreiter, this agile two-legged robot tackles uneven terrain and tight spaces with ease. Johnson explains that bipedal designs can outperform wheeled robots when it comes to navigating obstacles, while Bergbreiter points out that smart mechanical tweaks let Zippy move at an impressive 10 leg lengths per second – roughly equivalent to a human pacing at 19 miles per hour. This speed marks it as the fastest power-autonomous bipedal robot, irrespective of its size.
The design builds on lessons learnt from earlier models like Mugatu. The team – including students Soma Narita and Josef Macera – focused on a clever approach that shifts Zippy’s centre of gravity to drive it forward using momentum, rather than relying on complex servo motors. A mechanical hard stop mimics the limits of a hip joint, keeping the design refreshingly simple and effective.
If you’ve ever struggled with bulky technology in tight spaces, Zippy offers a welcome change. With plans to add sensors for autonomous navigation and teamwork on search or inspection tasks, this little robot is poised to open up new areas that were once off‑limits to larger machines.
