01 / What it is
The project
This project uses the click beetle as a model for a compact jumping mechanism. Click beetles bend across a thoracic hinge, store elastic energy while latched, and release it rapidly to strike the ground and launch themselves. The wooden prototype turns that biological sequence into a mechanism that can be observed, adjusted, and tested.
02 / My part
What I contributed
- Studying the beetle’s major motion stages and translating biological components into mechanical functions: loading, energy storage, latching, release, impact, and takeoff.
- Developing the structure as a wooden prototype so the geometry, joints, and release behavior can be fabricated and revised quickly.
- Planning tests around repeatability, jump height, stability, release timing, and how changes in geometry affect the launch.
03 / Experience
What I have gained
- Using biological motion as engineering inspiration without simply copying its appearance.
- Breaking a fast, complicated movement into a sequence of understandable mechanical states.
- Connecting stored elastic energy, ground reaction force, rotation, and takeoff to a buildable mechanism.
- Learning through physical iteration, observation, measurement, and failure.
04 / Now
Where it is going
Current focus
Turning the click beetle’s load–latch–release sequence into a simple wooden mechanism that can hop reliably.
Next step
Build the first working prototype, record its motion, and use the results to revise the hinge, latch, and energy-storage geometry.