I wish I could find more video or info about the mechanics of the ostrich legs. They don't seem to be even comparable to what humans have in terms of design.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhpVg...elated&search=
Watching them run, the ostrich's body seems to remain almost completely stationary in relation to their legs. They're going faster than humans, with no pendulus motion, as far as I can tell. I wonder what that means in terms of efficiency? You can see the neck wiggle, though.

Here's another fast one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r_B-...elated&search=

This is what the robot should be able to do after scoring at the RoboCup:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zQ-e...elated&search=

 

I know it's scifi but the kid at the end of the movie "The Arrival"
<spoiler warning>



morphed into a reverse knee kid and ran off like the roadrunner.

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Bill
Smart Kits build Smart People
http://www.blueroomelectronics.com

 

I'm intrigued, yet refuse to consciously watch any film I know contains Charlie Sheen (with the exception of perhaps Being John Malkovich). Denise Richards, on the other hand...

 

Blueroom, those "chicken legs" are just the coolest thing. Can you provide a link to the entire design or give a picture of the whole creation? I would think that the more crouched the stance the better, to a point. That thought makes me appreciate just how tricky our stance is, our legs are mostly straight up and down. I have to wonder what advantage that gives us.

Eventually you have to consider how to recreate the muscle action. Perhaps "muscle wire" will advance in the future to the point where you can actually perform muscle action as we have it now. At present it is too inefficient. It takes a lot of current and is slow to recover. Embedding a cooling system of some kind would speed up the last problem, but that adds to the complexity of the design.

No doubt bipedal locomotion will be one of the Holy Grails of Mechatronics.
kenjj

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All my pencils *used* to have erasers!

 

The backwards knee design is much more stable, seeing at the weight would be centered over the feet, rather than humans where we are prone to falling on our asses. They would fall on their face, but with a large feet that wont be a problem.

Kettering Kickoff went great, we won 2nd place and I am in the newspaper!

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MechTronics

World of Warcraft is a disease

 

Some clue to the efficency of the ostrich leg design is the slimness of the leg compared to the body size of the bird.

Even a chicken with those tiny 4" legs can give a human a run for their money.

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Bill
Smart Kits build Smart People
http://www.blueroomelectronics.com

 

I have to disagree with you there. I think judging the size of the leg in proportion to the rest of the ostrich's body is deceptive. Dense, muscular legs, but a relatively small body that just looks big with all its feathers and wings.

And yet the largest quadrupeds, like hippos and elephants, have legs very much like ours, and they do quite well. Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll0c9-KMfqA
Still think big feet and backwards knees are the way to go? I've seen elephants walk on their hind legs, and they seem to do surprisingly well.

 

I have been interested in building a walking robot. Perhaps I just played Mechwarrior a little too much, but i see that others share my interest.
I am in school to become an electrical engineer, so the electronics of the legs are rather simple to me.
But to come to my question, does anyone understand to physics of walking? or know of a good walking robot kit, that I could purchase.
Thanks

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NeoMach

 

This will do nicely
http://staff.science.uva.nl/~heck/Re...ng/walking.pdf

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MechTronics

World of Warcraft is a disease

 

Thanks you krumlink

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NeoMach