1997/11/10 by Michael J. Coleman, Andy Ruina, Coleman, Michael J. +1 · 1 citation
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Classical Physics (physics.class-ph) #Control and Dynamics of Mobile Robots #Experimental and Theoretical Physics Studies #FOS: Physical sciences #Medical Physics (physics.med-ph) #Robotic Locomotion and Control #physics.class-ph #physics.med-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.physics/9711006
4 pages, 2 Encapsulated Postscript figures, uses epsf.tex, revtex.sty, amsfonts.sty, aps.sty, aps10.sty, prabib.sty; Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let.,6/14/97, revised and re-submitted 11/11/97 ; information about Andy Ruina's lab and the authors' other publications can be found at: http://tam.cornell.edu/programs/humanpower/humanpower.html
openalex publication_date 1997/11/10 · arxiv created 1997/11/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
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 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.