Passive dynamics

Depending on the application, considering or altering the passive dynamics of a powered system can have drastic effects on performance, particularly energy economy, stability, and task bandwidth.

While at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, McGeer showed that a human-like frame can walk itself down a slope without requiring muscles or motors.

Unlike traditional robots, which expend energy by using motors to control every motion, McGeer's early passive-dynamic machines relied only on gravity and the natural swinging of their limbs to move forward down a slope.

Knees, according to McGeer, solve the problem of feet colliding with the ground when the leg swings forward, and also offers more stability in some settings.

While control methods have always been based on the mechanical actions (physics) of a system, passive dynamics utilizes the discovery of morphological computation.

Andrew Hansen, Steven Gard and others have done extensive research in developing better foot prosthetics by utilizing passive dynamics.