46 replies to this topic

[Lugh]

It's easy you silly gooses, Those legs fold the whole mech up into a much smaller package for storage. End of story.

[FrontGuard]

Hit the Deck, on 11 June 2015 - 12:45 PM, said:

I can't think of any real world animals which have "chicken legs" (reversed knees) like those depicted in fiction. So it's kinda hard to make comparison because you need to imagine how these "chicken legs" function.

EDIT: ninja'ed by stjobe!

LOL... um... Chickens are real world animals which have... um... Chicken Legs.

[pyrocomp]

Just watch till the end. This has good enough walker to show the situations where something knees are better then the other.
Also an example how it's no difference which ones you have.
https://www.youtube....4&v=q_yfvlplJe0

[Midax]

FrontGuard, on 12 June 2015 - 12:49 PM, said:

LOL... um... Chickens are real world animals which have... um... Chicken Legs.

Nope. That reverse joint is their ankle. They have a knee higher on there leg. The end of the drum stick is their knee. There is femur like bone connected to the knee that connects to their hips.

[FireDog]

If PGI makes a basic difference between bird and man legged mechs I would say give the birds a plus up on speed and a negative on hill climb/stability and the reverse for man legged mechs, plus on hill climb/stability, minus on speed.

The stability factor acting kind of like improved gyros, less recoil effects, stable weapon platform, more resistance to knock down if that ever makes a comeback.

[stjobe]

Bishop Steiner, on 12 June 2015 - 12:22 PM, said:

so why do most barefoot cultures run ball first?

Because they run barefoot? Our running shoes have a lot to do with which gait is used.

Also, not all of them do run toe-first; the Tarahumara people, for instance, run flat-footed, and both the Daasanach and Kalenjin people have a non-negligible percentage of runners that run heel-first (source).

About 60% of high level athletes running road race (even international elites) are heel strikers, and 90% of track athletes are forefoot strikers (source).

Which gait we use when running (heel-first, flat-footed, or toe-first) depend in part on training, in part on which speed we're going. Walking is generally heel-first or flat-footed, running at moderate speed can use all three, and high-speed sprinting is generally toe-first only.

It is quite natural to be walking heel-first, jog heel-first or flat-footed, and sprint toe-first. Neither of these are especially bad for the joints if you don't over-stride.

Also, I'd like to correct something I stated in error in my previous post: It is walking heel-first that is up to 53% more energy-efficient than toe-first, not running.

Anyway, the point I was trying to make was that this bit:

Bishop Steiner, on 11 June 2015 - 07:22 PM, said:

it should be noted, that walking flatfooted/heel first on plantigrades is bad for the joints.

is wrong.

Walking flat-footed/heel-first is what we've evolved to do and is not bad for the joints.

Running flat-footed/heel-first can be bad for the joints, but has more to do with over-striding than the gait itself.

[FrontGuard]

Midax, on 12 June 2015 - 12:59 PM, said:

Nope. That reverse joint is their ankle. They have a knee higher on there leg. The end of the drum stick is their knee. There is femur like bone connected to the knee that connects to their hips.

o, i c... I stand corrected. With my knee facing forward just like a chicken. Thx for the info.