Researchers in South Korea have developed a robotic water strider capable of jumping up to 50 centimeters.

According to a team of researchers at Ajou University on Tuesday, the world-class water-jumping robot was developed based on the jumping fundamentals of the water strider, which can spring off the surface of water to a height ten times their own size.

The robot can jump more than 50 centimeters vertically, and more than 20 centimeters over an obstacle.

The team said that the robotic mechanism can find application in the development of subminiature insect-emulating robots as well as in the fields of medicine, defense, surveillance, and environmental monitoring.

The results of the research have been published in the March edition of the international journal "Nature Communications."