Kurma

Kurma is named after the turtle in Hindu mythology that carries the world. Ours carries less, but it walks the same way: slowly, with three feet always on the ground, so it never has to catch itself.

We actually watched how turtles walk and copied the leg timing. A Raspberry Pi sequences the servos; the gait is statically stable, which is why it keeps going on ground that stops most wheeled robots.

We entered it in the Mass Robotics challenge. Didn’t get far — it was a prototype, and it showed. But building a legged robot teaches you something wheeled ones can’t: the mechanics and the control are the same problem wearing two hats.