# Feline‐Inspired Robot Enabled by Combustion‐Driven Actuators for Agile Motion and High‐Payload Obstacle Traversal

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a feline-inspired robot powered by a combustion-driven actuator that can jump, fly, and escape obstacles with high speed and precision.

## Contribution

A combustion-driven soft actuator with millisecond response and high-force output enables a multi-modal robot with superior agility and escape capabilities.

## Key findings

- The actuator delivers force outputs up to 70 times its self-weight with 5% control precision.
- The robot can accelerate to eight body lengths per second and transition to flight within 0.1 seconds.
- The robot demonstrates robust escape capabilities, surpassing current soft robotic systems in agility and precision.

## Abstract

In nature, many animals and skilled humans perform rapid, high‐force maneuvers such as strikes, leaps, or escape responses, through instantaneous energy release. Replicating this synergy of speed, power, and precision in soft robots has remained an unsolved challenge. Here we introduce a combustion‐driven soft actuator with an embedded backbone that, using a transient driving method, delivers millisecond‐scale response, force outputs up to 70 times its self‐weight, and control precision within 5%. This capability supports both static tasks (e.g., precision throwing), and dynamic actions (e.g., intercepting moving targets). Leveraging this actuator, we developed a feline‐inspired robot that accelerates to eight body lengths per second and transitions to flight within 0.1 s, creating a multi‐modal “Jump‐and‐Fly Catbot” (JFC) capable of jumping, flying, and hovering. JFC navigates unstructured terrains and demonstrates robust escape capabilities, including freeing itself from bed entrapment, avoiding obstructing branches, and evading net capture, with response within 0.5 s, that surpass current soft robotic systems. These results establish a new paradigm for soft robots, integrating high‐force interaction, precision control, and versatile locomotion for robust operation in complex environments.

Inspired by nature's competitive maneuvers, this study introduces a combustion‐driven soft actuator that powers a multi‐modal “Jump‐and‐Fly Catbot” (JFC). With millisecond response, high‐force output (over 70 times its weight) and precise control (error within 5%), the robot can jump, fly, hover, and escape from challenging environments, achieving agility and precision beyond existing soft robotic systems.