Figure 1. A new mechanical model for a tripod gait.

(A) Schematic showing a simple model for the center of mass (CoM) movement during locomotion. In this model (spring-loaded inverted pendulum [SLIP]), the mass of the animal is concentrated into a point that is supported by a single massless spring. The arrow represents the direction of locomotion. This model can capture the basic features of the CoM movement during walking (in humans) and running (in both humans and cockroaches). (B) SLIP cannot describe the fly’s CoM movement, which has a mid-stance maxima in speed. (C) A fly walking on three legs can be described by a springy tripod. The sagittal plane mechanics is governed by the sagittal plane projection of the springy tripod (see rectangle). (D) A springy tripod will produce angular restorative forces. Any movement away from the mid-stance position will produce restorative forces (represented by thin arrows). The thick arrows represent forces from front and back legs; thickness of the arrow indicates the magnitude of the force. Top: before mid-stance, the front leg is stretched and the back leg is compressed, leading to larger forces from the back leg. Bottom: after mid-stance, the front leg is compressed and exerts larger tangential forces. Net result is restorative forces. (E) The sagittal projection of a springy tripod can be modeled as the angular and radial spring-loaded inverted pendulum (ARSLIP) model. The angular springs expand as the CoM moves away from the mid-stance position and thereby generate restorative forces. The restorative forces can produce the mid-stance maximum in speed observed in flies in addition to the CoM movement pattern in human walking and running.