Book 15, Question 56
Why Do Many Walking Robots Have Four Legs?
Four legs make a robot steady, because three feet can stay on the ground while one steps! Two-legged walking is much harder to balance. Four legs also spread out the weight and can carry more.
More fun facts
- A robot with four legs can keep at least three legs on the ground at all times.
- That makes it less likely to fall over.
- A robot called BigDog walked on four legs and weighed 165 pounds (75 kilograms).
- BigDog used a gasoline engine and fluid pressure to move its legs.
- An older robot, Dante 2, moved like two overlapping coffee tables sliding over each other: slow and steady but not nimble.
Sources: Scientific American, Scientific American
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