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a. Description:
STriDER (Self-excited Tripedal Dynamic Experimental Robot) is a novel three-legged walking machine that exploits the concept of actuated passive dynamic locomotion to dynamically walk with high energy efficiency and minimal control. Unlike other passive dynamic walking machines, this unique tripedal locomotion robot is inherently stable with its tripod stance, can change directions, and is relatively easy to implement, making it practical to be used for real life applications. In this video we present our on going work on this unique walking machine. First we present the concept of the tripedal walking gait and the strategy of how it changes its direction. Then we the mechanical design of the first prototype is presented followed by the dynamic simulation of the tripedal gait. To verify our dynamic analysis, a simple experiment of a single tripedal gait is presented using the first prototype showing the comparison between the dynamic simulation and the actual experiment.

b. Player Information:
This MPEG4 files was created using QuickTime Pro 7.1.3 under Mac OS X Version 10.4.8. Any player that can play standard MPEG4 movie files would be able to play this movie file. QuickTime Version 7.1.3 or higher is recommended.

c. Contact Information:
For questions or information requests regarding this work, please contact;
Dennis Hong, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department
Director of Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa)

105 Randolph Hall, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061
Office: (540) 231-7195     Fax: (540) 231-9100
e-mail: dhong@vt.edu
<http://www.me.vt.edu/romela/>
<http://www.me.vt.edu/people/faculty/hong.html>
