Mutually opposing forces during locomotion can eliminate the tradeoff between maneuverability and stability

TLDR

Animals often generate substantial forces in directions that do not directly contribute to movement, such as side‑to‑side forces in running and flying insects, whose role has remained unclear. The study aims to show that mutually opposing forces can simultaneously improve maneuverability and stability, even though this incurs an energetic cost. Using a multidisciplinary approach, the authors demonstrate this effect. Their results overturn the traditional maneuverability–stability tradeoff in both biological locomotion and mobile robot engineering, suggesting new design strategies for mobile systems.

Abstract

Significance Animals often produce substantial forces in directions that do not directly contribute to movement. For example, running and flying insects produce side-to-side forces as they travel forward. These forces generally “cancel out,” and so their role remains a mystery. Using a multidisciplinary approach, we show that mutually opposing forces can enhance both maneuverability and stability at the same time, although at some energetic cost. In addition to challenging the maneuverability–stability dichotomy within locomotion, our results challenge the same tradeoff within the engineering of mobile robots. This may inspire the exploration of a new set of strategies for the design and control of mobile systems.