get their power from the weight put on them. If the mat bumps into something or is pulled to as stop, they stop. But if they are pushed upwards they'll push forward, until completely stopped.

When these mats are everywhere (on stairways for instance) you get things going.

On stairways when going down, the feet realize its a stair by the angle and height, and automatically stop unless given a signal (like a double step perhaps) to continue and go ahead down the step. In any case they go down slowly...
-- pashute, Feb 18 2023

ramp-walking plastic bear toy https://www.etsy.co...nla_listing_details
[pocmloc, Feb 19 2023]

I'm confused, are these little mats you attach to your feet?
-- doctorremulac3, Feb 18 2023


//get their power from the weight put on them// This is the problem with this idea (well there are almost certainly other problems with it but this is *The* problem)

Putting a weight on a thing does not transfer power to the thing. Power = weight x distance i.e. power can be generated by allowing the weight to travel downwards and extracting the gravitational potential energy from the weight.

So these mats can only walk by weight power if they are walking down a slope (a bit like the little plastic bear figure I had as a child that would walk down a gentle slope). At which point wheels are more efficient... but perhaps the self-regulating speed for the ramp-waker would be an advantage.

Not sure how the mat handles stairs, unless you incorporate Dalek technology.
-- pocmloc, Feb 19 2023



random, halfbakery