Eli5: Why did we invent wheels for cars instead of legs? Wouldn’t cars with legs be able to manoeuvre around uneven lands easier?
In: 0
Wheels didn’t need a lot of invention. (Cut a rounding trunk into cross sections). They don’t even need to be perfectly circular to assist with moving things.
Legs, on the other hand, are fairly complex mechanisms. They need hinges, linear actuators (muscles) and something that balances and coordinates their movement. This is hard to make work purely mechanically – it is only with computing and advanced sensors that legs are even feasible that can adapt to terrain. Simple mechanical legs might work on flat and even surfaces but that is exactly where a wheel works even better.
Legs are also hard to make fail safe – a single failure very likely leads to collapse whereas a wheel not working might, at the very worst, just stop moving.
Latest Answers