This project intiates the process of establishing a general theory of the mechanics of walking systems with more than two legs. Arthropods are used as test models. The project has three phases. The first comprises an investigation of museum specimens representing the diversity of arthropods to determine basic parameters of potential leg movement. Phase 2 use photography to determine actual leg motion of living arthropods, and phase 3 is a computer simulation of leg and body motion using the parameters determined in phases 1 and 2.
