An Uncontrolled Walking Toy That Cannot Stand Still
- 20 April 1998
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 80 (16) , 3658-3661
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.80.3658
Abstract
We built a simple two-leg toy that can walk stably with no control system. It walks downhill powered only by gravity. It seems to be the first McGeer-like passive-dynamic walker that is statically unstable in all standing positions, yet is stable in motion. It is one of a few known mechanical devices that are stable near a statically unstable configuration but do not depend on spinning parts. Its design is loosely based on simulations which do not predict its observed stability. Its motion highlights the possible role of uncontrolled nonholonomic mechanics in balance.Keywords
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This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit:
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