Disney created this hopping robot that looks just like Tigger

I didn’t know Disney was making robots, but the company’s Research arm yesterday revealed a pretty special one.

The one-legged hopping bot might seem like an automated version of a pogo stick, but actually has some interesting tech under the hood to keep it from falling over after a few seconds.

The happy robot is able to stabilize using its only leg thanks to a ‘linear elastic actuator in parrallel’ — or LEAP — comprised of a voice coil actuator in parallel with two compression springs. Two servo motors then make sure the robot jumps up and down.

While it might not seem like a breakthrough invention, it’s impressive how the robot is able to freely roam around without needing someone controlling it. The only problem is that it can only sustain its hopping for seven seconds before crashing — but that will be probably be improved on in a next version.

There’s no word yet on what the creation is going to be used for, but an easy guess would be a robot of Winnie the Pooh’s favorite friend Tigger — known for jumping around on his tail. Another option would be an army of jumping robots bound to destroy humanity. I guess time will tell.