Updated: June 20, 2017 Questions?

Principles and Concepts of Legged Locomotion

Where: Mariehamn, Finland. (Nearest big city is Stockholm, Sweden.)
Meeting chairs: Andy Ruina, Sam Burden, Matt Sheen
On-site organization: Carina Sommarström
Photos and Videos of the meeting: Carina'a Facebook, Carina's Samba page, All pics (1.5 Gig), Top 100 (300M), All videos (1 gig)

Special thanks to:

Sam Burden: For most of the initial meeting organization, www pages. money handling and abstract collection and reviewing
Carina Sommarström: For all of the onsite organization, and music.
Lydia Eriksson, Francine Eriksson, Elina Granlund:  For 147.5 hours of low paid onsite logistics over 5 days, and music.
Matt Sheen: For tons of last minute organization of www sites for money handling and meeting www pages.
Jason Cortell: For looking after onsite media
Rong Tan & Kirby Witte: For great talk timing and musical endings.
Everyone who helped set up and clean up here and there all through the conference.
Everyone, every single one,  for good humor and a positive attitude from the first second to the last (as best I could tell)

Key Links: Meeting Schedule (excluding detailed talk schedule.) Talk schedule (which talk is when) bAbstracts and links to video abstracts (~in  order of presentation) Poster and Demonstration sign up Information about talks Map of Mariehamn, with key meeting locations,                     Tiny url for smart-phone: https://goo.gl/Bdhw2z Weather Underground forecast, Norway Meteorological Institute Forecast Travel to and from the conference Registration (google form) How to pay

Those arrogant dynamic walkers think ...

Passwords:   Bikes: 2222;   Cikada wifi:  qwert;    Lyceum guest wifi:  MGYUI-KIHGE
Video-abstracts password: two words concatenated: (lower limbs)(dynamic activity), all lower case, rhymes with Meg's talking.

FAQ

Dynamic Walking, what's that?

A meeting about the mechanics, energetics and control of legged locomotion of animals, people and robots. A bit more informal and more participatory than many meetings. See the links at the bottom of this page, e.g., these videos from a previous meeting, to get a sense.

· Where is the meeting, actually?
The meeting starts at the Stockholm Viking-Line Ferry terminal before 4:00 PM, Sunday June 4. The meeting fee includes bus-fare from the Stockholm central bus and train station to the Ferry terminal (say “robot conference” when boarding bus). Beautiful 7-hour ferry ride, starts at 4:30 PM, with fancy dinner and some talks.

On Monday through Thursday the meeting is in Mariehamn Finland. Mariehamn (MAHR-ee-uh-Hahm), Finland is the biggest and Western-most of the thousands of Åland (OH-lahnd) Islands. Where's that? At the South-Western tip of Swedish-speaking Finland in the Baltic Sea. At 20E60.1N, the nearest big city is Stockholm, Sweden, which is, as you will experience, twice, a nice boat ride away.

     Thursday night, late, starts the end of the meeting which is your sleeping on the boat from Åland to Stockholm, arriving Friday morning, June 9,  at 6:30 AM.  You can reach airport by 8 AM. International flights from Stockholm have strict 60-minute-advance check-in times, an hour advance arrival is necessary and sufficient, so you can fly any time from 9 AM on). Meeting fee includes the bus-fare from the Ferry terminal to the central Stockholm bus and train station (“robot conference”).

· What travel plans should I make?

IN SHORT: 1) Get to Stockholm Central bus station before 3 PM Sunday June 4. Or, get to the Viking terminal before 4PM
2) Take free bus, last one is 3 PM, to Viking terminal. Password for free bus is “Robot Conference”.
3) The only European money (cash) you need all week is 10 Kroner, or 1 Euro, to use the rest room in
the Stockholm bus station.

More about travel

· What does the conference fee include?

Everything from Stockholm back to Stockholm: all conference fees, meals, snacks, shared-room lodging (Hotel Cikada), registration, facilities, the bus to the ferry, ferry tickets, some alcohol, feast on the ferry, bed on the ferry, some “fun” activities (Sailing ship to small island with sauna).

850 Euros ($900).  550 Euros ($600) for students (+100 Euros for late registration, +200 Euros for private room)

· What more, on top of the fee, will the conference cost?

Not included in the fee: your plane/train to and from Stockholm; the trip from the Stockholm airport to the Stockholm 'central station' (10-20 Euros each way); and paying extra for a single room at the conference. Also, extra for more than one drink at the Tuesday dinner.

· How do I apply?

    It’s a bit late now, but not impossible. Send email and we’ll tell you what to do.

· The DRAPA Challenge: make a cheap robot

Make and demonstrate a cheap dynamic robot. The main rule: It has to be capable, at least in principle, of falling. Read more here.

· Poster?

If you want to bring one, or want us to print one for you, click here.

·
Physical demonstration?

Please bring one, please. Sign up here.

The conference will address these basic questions (or a subset):

1. How can we predict how people or animals will move from basic principles?

2. How can we build more-stable, more versatile and more-energy-effective legged robots?

3. What data do we have that reveals or refutes important principles or concepts in animal, human or robotic legged locomotion?

More about the scope:

Likely to be regarded as central topics: energetics, stability, predictive principles and models, dynamic modeling, empirical data with a conceptual tie in, robot and prosthetics successes and failures.

Less emphasis on: vision, navigation, motion planning, kinematic data, kinematic control, measurements that do not address a basic concept or principle.

Some meeting features:

· Based on the previous Dynamic-Walking-style meetings (see links below).

· All talks either reviewed or invited.

· Single track.

· Posters

· Informal setting with joint-meals, common living facility, and organization and activities that maximize conversations and interactions.
(Somewhat imitative of the Gordon Conference format in the US.)

· Brainstorming and idea sharing, interesting discussions not clipped for time.

· Venue for presentations: A nice sloped-seating lecture-room with big screen.

· All participants talk for at least 30s.

Previous Dynamic Walking Meetings

Dynamic Walking 2016, Camp Ohiyesa, (near Ann Arbor, Michigan)
Dynamic Walking 2015, Ohio State, Columbus, Ohio
Dynamic Walking 2014, ETH Zurich
Dynamic Walking 2013, Carnegie Mellon University
Dynamic Walking 2012, Institute for Human and Machine Cognition
Dynamic Walking 2011, University of Jena
Dynamic Walking 2010, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dynamic Walking 2009, Simon Fraser University
Dynamic Walking 2008, Delft University of Technology, Video from 2008
Dynamic Walking 2007, Aland Polytech
Dynamic Walking 2006, University of Michigan
Dynamic Walking 2005, Carnegie Mellon University