P.T. Barnum would be impressed.  My dog, Buddy, would be terrified.  And the US military is jumping for joy, literally 30 feet up.

“Ladies & Gentlemen, Children of All Ages,” introducing the Sand Flea from the folks that introduced us to the robotic dog and cheetah.  Boston Dynamics has created an impressive jumping robot that can leap tall buildings in a single bound.  The Sand Flea can travel up to 215 yards away, view its entire surrounds and scale buildings with a simple press of the button.  Weighing only 11 pounds, and using compressed gas it can hop over any obstacle to see our enemy in real time.  The Flea can even swim, which is more than I can say about their robotic cat.

Unlike the theoretical mechanical beasts, the San Flea is headed to Afghanistan very soon to work with his partner the Scout XT Robot to help with bomb disposal and reconnaissance.  This is one flea that may be worth scratching our heads about…