Why are walking machines needed?
A walking drone has been made in Korea. And why is it better than ordinary wheeled vehicles?
Walkers, in comparison with wheeled or tracked vehicles, can go on any off-road. The Korean Tiger X-1 ➊ walker was created just for this. Where there is a road, he rolls on wheels, where there is no road, he walks on “feet”.
In general, the first walker was invented by our compatriot mathematician Pafnutiy Chebyshev. His “Walking Machine” ➋ was shown at the World Exhibition in Paris back in 1878.
Since the mechanics of movement of walkers are complex, it was widely spread in the XX century. they did not receive, except for walking excavators. Due to the enormous weight of the machines, the only way to move them is to step with the support shoes. For example, the ESh-100/100 ➌ excavator, the largest in the USSR and Russia, weighs 10 thousand tons, and its speed is only 60 m / h.
The first walker for military purposes was tried in the United States during the Vietnam War. It was believed that the jungle could only be traversed by such machines. It didn't go further than experimental development ➍. In the final form, it should have looked like this ➎.
A model of the Russian combat walker at the Army-2018 forum was shown by the Kalashnikov concern – the Igorёk controlled bipedal complex ➏.
The most famous walker of our time is the four-legged BigDog ❼ robot. The on-board computer controls 16 motors in the robot's limbs and prevents it from losing balance.
Walkers will soon be sent into space. In Britain, the Spacebit ➑ lunar rover was developed. He will explore caves on the moon, where wheeled vehicles cannot move.
