Meet Zippy, the Smallest Bipedal Robot

Carnegie Mellon’s College of Engineering has unveiled Zippy, the world’s smallest fully autonomous bipedal robot. Standing just 3.6 cm tall and weighing around 25 g, Zippy carries its own battery, single actuator, and control electronics—making it a fully self-contained system.

“In a world designed for humans, two-legged robots are able to navigate uneven terrains and maneuver around objects more easily than robots with wheels,” explained Aaron Johnson , a professor of mechanical engineeringOpens in new window. “For this reason, we have been investigating how to eliminate complex walking mechanisms to make simple, two-legged robots possible.”