Alt-BEAM Archive
Message #05947
To: beam@sgiblab.sgi.com
From: "cbrenizer" cbrenizer@mail.trib.net
Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 13:45:55 -0500
Subject: [alt-beam] thought fodder. bipedal walking
maybe you guys have already discussed something like this
Passive Dynamic Walking
http://www.msc.cornell.edu/~ruinalab/pdw.html
nothing could be more BEAM could it? you start with a frame or skeleton
that has a tendency to walk bipedal without power and then just figure out
how to shift the center of gravity via 1 or 2 motors and presto! you've got
a two leg walker. cool! i think i'll work on world peace next...
(nevermind that it might not be able to stand still without tipping over,
or that walking down hill is all it can do, or that their example of a
tinkertoy walker has to walk on a 'beam'...no pun intended...how about
slapping a solar cell to their first example's forehead and figuring out how
to make it walk toward light)
Seriously, though. figuring out how to make a walking frame stand still,
might be easier than making a standing frame walk. And probably will take
far less power too.
The idea of using something that already has the nature to walk, in the way
of mechanical design, simplifies things considerably for just walking
forward in a straight line....
of course, to be useful, walking in two directions (forward/backward) would
be nice....not to mention turning...
Þ-:
opcodejoe@mail.trib.net
ICQ# 11118760
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