Compared to other terrestrial animals, penguins have an excessive amount of side-to-side, waddling motion. If humans waddle too much they fall, but penguins somehow overcome this. They may have an elegant movement strategy for stability that we're unaware of. |
It?s almost like playtime for them. We can?t hold them back. There is one in particular that always wants to cut in front of the other penguins, so that he can walk across the mat first. It?s pretty cute. |
Maybe it could extend to stroke or other pathological patients who have an increased incidence of falls and an inability to control locomotion. |
There is not much research on this issue, so we?re hopeful about the results. |
They are easy subjects, very cooperative. They seem to enjoy being studied. |
We can envision a scenario where elderly may be able to put their walkers or canes down because they've learned to make the same adjustments in their walking patterns. This research may aid in developing a way to teach those people how to walk more efficiently despite their side-to-side motion, to learn the same kind of stability as the penguin. |