this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2026
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Why quadruped instead of wheels? Just seems gimmicky to me.
Legs have some advantages over wheels, but unless these can climb or jump it seems to be the lesser choice. If it can climb or jump, then I'll stfu.
Because wheels aren't all that great in less than carefully managed paths. Quadrupedal motion is just fine in most all situations... Wheels are most efficient, followed by swimming with boyancy, then flying with the wind, then bipedal motion... But quadrupedal motion isn't everywhere for no reason. It's very stable and robust. It's very practical and forgiving in most all situations
Quadrupedal motion is pervasive in nature because wheels (and tank treads for bad terrain) can't readily form via natural processes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotating_locomotion_in_living_systems#Biological_barriers_to_wheeled_organisms
Also this goes back to my note about climbing and jumping. Those would give limbs a real advantage in applications where it is relevant.
You can watch some videos on YouTube, if you really want to learn. It's interesting, sometimes in a full-dystopian nightmare fuel kind of way. Yes, we are at the point where some of these robots can climb and jump.
It's a gimmick, though, for sure. Just like human-mimicking androids are a gimmick. The money for robotics is in manufacturing.
But I'll bet there will always be an obscenely wealthy person who is willing to pay for a cool looking robot prototype.
I think it's for rough terrain, like carrying packs of supplies through war zones. So not full climbing but at least able to step over rocks and debris.
Intimidation factor.
Also higher up for the turret