Journal of Bionic Engineering (2024) 21:635–652 https://doi.org/10.1007/s42235-023-00467-2 

Research Progress on Bionic Water Strider Robots 

Jianhao Liu1  · Mingjun Shen1  · Ziqiang Ma1  · Xinping Zhou1,2  

1 School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
2 State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China

Abstract Biological water striders have advantages such as fexible movement, low disturbance to the water surface, and low noise. Researchers have developed a large number of biomimetic water strider robots based on their movement mechanism, which have broad application prospects in water quality testing, water surface reconnaissance, and search. This article mainly reviews the research progress of biomimetic water strider robots. First, the biological and kinematic characteristics of water striders are outlined, and some mechanical parameters of biological water striders are summarized. The basic equations of water strider movement are then described. Next, an overview is given of the past and current work on skating and jumping movements of biomimetic water strider robots based on surface tension and water pressure dominance. Based on the current research status of biomimetic water strider robots, the shortcomings of current research on biomimetic water striders are summarized, and the future development of biomimetic water strider robots is discussed. This article provides new insights for the design of biomimetic water strider robots. 

Keywords Bionics · Water strider · Robot · Motion of robots on water surface