The Role of Morphological Computation of the Goat Hoof in Slip Reduction

The remarkable ability of goats to maintain stability during climbing cliffs or trees provides a valuable opportunity to understand some of the secrets of stable legged locomotion on unstructured terrains. This paper, for the first time, presents analytical and experimental explanations as to how the morphological computation at the goat hoof makes a significant contribution to slip reduction on both smooth and rough surfaces. We conducted experiments using a laboratory made hoof and compared its dynamic behavior against a rounded foot. We recorded forces and position of the hoof to analyze the effect of its shape and the individual contributions from 3-joints in the hoof on the work required to slip. Results state that the work required to move the hoof is more than 3 times that required to move a rounded foot. Additionally, the variables in the transient state are affected not only by the number and type of joints but also by the interaction with the environment. These findings promote the development of new types of feet for robots for all terrain conditions with greater stability and less control complexity.