Tripedal robot swings itself into action

A three-legged robot with an unconventional and graceful walk has been developed by US researchers. Like humans, it exploits gravity to save energy with each step, but it also flips its entire body upside-down with each stride.

The fearsome alien tripods in HG Well's book The War of The Worlds are described as moving like "a milking stool tilted and bowled violently along the ground."

STriDER (Self-excited Tripedal Dynamic Experimental Robot) has a far more graceful, and acrobatic, gait (see video at linked page below) that sees its body flip 180 degrees with each step. A second video explains more about the project and shows the initial prototype.

Read full story and watch video in New Scientist