Before BigDog and LittleDog, Boston Dynamics Director Martin Buehler was messing around with single-leg motility, here via the Robot Jockey, a sort of semi-self-balancing pogo stick under a motorcycle frame. On Buehler’s website, you can see the evolution, from these monoped prototypes up to the four-legged critters we see bouncing around in BD test videos today. With the rider in full motorcycle regalia and the Van Halen soundtrack, this looks like some sort of misguided extreme sport that never quite got off the ground… er so speak.
Martin Buehler – Link
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I think there’s a reason why no animals have a single leg.