https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220316145744.htm

Graceful, elegant, powerful -- flightless birds like the ostrich are a mechanical wonder. Ostriches, some of which weigh over 100kg, run through the savanna at up to 55km/h. The ostriches outstanding locomotor performance is thought to be enabled by the animal's leg structure. Unlike humans, birds fold their feet back when pulling their legs up towards their bodies. Why do the animals do this? Why is this foot movement pattern energy-efficient for walking and running? And can the bird's leg structure with all its bones, muscles, and tendons be transferred to walking robots?

Alexander Badri-Spröwitz has spent more than five years on these questions. At the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS), he leads the Dynamic Locomotion Group. His team works at the interface between biology and robotics in the field of biomechanics and neurocontrol. The dynamic locomotion of animals and robots is the group's main focus.