This Military Robot Can Jump From The Sidewalk Onto A Roof

Meet the Sand Flea:

Google-owned robotics company Boston Dynamics makes a number of stunning robots, perhaps most notably its Atlas humanoid and the "Big Dog" cargo-carrying robot.

But the "Sand Flea," weighing in at a mere 11 pounds (compared to Atlas' 330 pounds) can do something that none of these others can. It can jump, and it can jump high.

It moves along the ground like a remote control car, but when the operator wants to get airborne, the Sand Flea props itself up at an angle and fires a piston into the ground that sends the robot hurtling forward through the air at heights of up to 30 feet. That's high enough to jump onto the roof of an average house from the ground.

It's not all about height, however. Boston Dynamics boasts that this thing is also handy for "precision hops through windows or doors, on to tables," even up staircases. Developed with funding from the U.S. Army's Rapid Equipping Force, it's plain to see that this robot could be a handy surveillance bot that can get itself into otherwise inaccessible locations.

Check out the full video below: