A research team at Seoul National University and Harvard has created an “insect” that mimics the ability of water striders to walk on water — which could lead to robots capable of hopping along the surface of the water.

Walking on water is not uncommon in the animal world, but it’s something humans haven’t been able to master. Tiny creatures like the water strider use surface tension on the water in order to stay afloat, allowing them to skim along the surface or even jump, according to a Harvard Gazette report.

Scientists from the universities have now unveiled a robotic insect that is capable of mimicking these behaviors. The jumping aspect is the most difficult, because the “insect” must push its legs off the water without sinking.

In findings published in the journal Science, they’ve managed to do just that. They found the perfect speed and amount of time — as well as the right depth — necessary to achieve a jump.

They closely observed the water strider, an insect that has legs with slightly curved tips and uses a rotational leg movement to help leap from the surface of the water. The team collected lots of water striders and took videos of their movements so they could analyze what mechanics would be necessary in order to achieve that with a tiny robot.

Jumping was the big obstacle, as if you apply the amount of force needed to jump, typically the limbs would break the surface of the water and it wouldn’t go anywhere. But by studying the water strider, the team was able to figure out the very precise mechanisms that go into the creature and allow it to do what it does.