--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Leg locomotion was, for decades, thought…" description: "\"Leg locomotion was, for decades, thought to be an incredibly difficult problem. There has been very, very painstakingly slow progress there, and robots..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/stuart-j-russell-21468_decades_leg-locomotion-was-for-decades-thought-t_1097593.jpg" --- # Leg locomotion was, for decades, thought to be an… ![“Leg locomotion was, for decades, thought to be an incredibly difficult problem. There has been very, very painstakingly slow progress there, and robots that essentially lumbered along at one step every 15 seconds and occasionally fell over.” quote by Stuart J. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/stuart-j-russell-21468_decades_leg-locomotion-was-for-decades-thought-t_1097593.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/stuart-j-russell-21468_decades_leg-locomotion-was-for-decades-thought-t_1097593.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/stuart-j-russell-21468_decades_leg-locomotion-was-for-decades-thought-t_1097593.jpg) > “Leg locomotion was, for decades, thought to be an incredibly difficult problem. There has been very, very painstakingly slow progress there, and robots that essentially lumbered along at one step every 15 seconds and occasionally fell over.” [Stuart J. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-j-russell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Robotic locomotion has been historically slow and cumbersome, but incremental advances are gradually overcoming early limitations. **In simple terms:** Robots now move more smoothly. Key Takeaway Support continued research. Themes technology innovation perseverance Mood analytical optimistic Type technical inspirational When to use this quote - industrial automation - search and rescue - exploration - assistive devices Key Concepts Robotics control systems Questions to Reflect On - What tasks could benefit from smoother robot motion? - How can we accelerate progress? A Different Perspective Complex environments still pose major hurdles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Difficult problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-problems/) [Locomotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/locomotion/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Robotics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robotics/) [Robots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robots/) [Slow progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slow-progress/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [ The \[first\] argument asserts the non-existence of motion on the ground that that which is in locomotion must arrive at the half-way stage before… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeno-of-elea/the-first-argument-asserts-the-non-existence-of-motion-on-the-ground/) [Zeno of Elea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeno-of-elea/) > [Methods of locomotion have improved greatly in recent years, but places to go remain about the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-herold/methods-of-locomotion-have-improved-greatly-in-recent-years-but/) [Don Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-herold/) > [“And that would be my method of locomotion, the Lion concluded. Not diplomas earned, but friendships bungled. Campaigns aborted. Errors in judgment and public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/and-that-would-be-my-method-of-locomotion-the-lion-concluded-not/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [Man is the only mammal whose normal method of locomotion is to walk on two legs. A pattern of mammal behavior that emerges only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-morgan/man-is-the-only-mammal-whose-normal-method-of-locomotion-is-to-walk/) [Elaine Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-morgan/) > [“The most obvious and the most distinctive features of the History of Civilisation, during the last fifty years, is the wonderful increase of industrial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/the-most-obvious-and-the-most-distinctive-features-of-the-history-of/) [Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/) > [Attempts to limit female mobility by hampering locomotion are ancient and almost universal. The foot-binding of upper-class Chinese girls and the Nigerian custom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/attempts-to-limit-female-mobility-by-hampering-locomotion-are-ancient/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [“You are your own vehicular machinery that ought to propel yourself under guidance of the compass of the Holy Spirit of God. Don't go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-are-your-own-vehicular-machinery-that-ought-to-propel-yourself/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Movies are always in a state of locomotion. You start with a general idea of how it should feel and then you find you've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/movies-are-always-in-a-state-of-locomotion-you-start-with-a-general/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [The similarities among animals that are on the surface very different are no coincidence. In fact, animal locomotion is no different than other flows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-bejan/the-similarities-among-animals-that-are-on-the-surface-very-different/) [Adrian Bejan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-bejan/) > [The body's habituation to walking as normal stems from the good olddays. It was the bourgeois form of locomotion: physicaldemythologization, free of the spell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/the-body-s-habituation-to-walking-as-normal-stems-from-the-good/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [“If the interest of a scientific expositor ought to be measured by the importance of the subject, I shall be applauded for my choice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-jules-marey/if-the-interest-of-a-scientific-expositor-ought-to-be-measured-by-the/) Etienne-Jules Marey > [“There is this to be said for walking: it is the one method of human locomotion by which a man or woman proceeds erect,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/there-is-this-to-be-said-for-walking-it-is-the-one-method-of-human/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Walking takes longer... than any other known form of locomotion except crawling. Thus it stretches time and prolongs life. Life is already too short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/walking-takes-longer-than-any-other-known-form-of-locomotion-except/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [There are some good things to be said about walking. Not many, but some. Walking takes longer, for example, than any other known form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/there-are-some-good-things-to-be-said-about-walking-not-many-but-some/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [In the same spirit, when the automobile arrived, there were those that declared the horse to be the most perfect form of locomotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/in-the-same-spirit-when-the-automobile-arrived-there-were-those-that/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) ## More by Stuart J. Russell > [The robot is not going to want to be switched off because you've given it a goal to achieve and being switched off is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-j-russell/the-robot-is-not-going-to-want-to-be-switched-off-because-you-ve/) [Stuart J. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-j-russell/) > [Google or other search engines are examples of AI, and relatively simple AI, but they're still AI. That plus an awful lot of hardware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-j-russell/google-or-other-search-engines-are-examples-of-ai-and-relatively/) [Stuart J. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-j-russell/) > [It's unlikely that machines would spontaneously decide they didn't like people, or that they had goals in opposition to those of human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-j-russell/it-s-unlikely-that-machines-would-spontaneously-decide-they-didn-t/) [Stuart J. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-j-russell/) > [It's very hard to predict what kind of uses we'd make of assistants that could read and understand all the information the human race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-j-russell/it-s-very-hard-to-predict-what-kind-of-uses-we-d-make-of-assistants/) [Stuart J. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-j-russell/) > [When people talk about the singularity, when people talk about superintelligent AI, they're not talking about sentience or consciousness. They're talking about superhuman ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-j-russell/when-people-talk-about-the-singularity-when-people-talk-about/) [Stuart J. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-j-russell/) > [Chess programs don't play chess the way humans play chess. We don't really know how humans play chess, but one of the things we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-j-russell/chess-programs-don-t-play-chess-the-way-humans-play-chess-we-don-t/) [Stuart J. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-j-russell/) > [You're able to use a search engine, like Google or Bing or whatever. But those engines don't understand anything about pages that they give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-j-russell/you-re-able-to-use-a-search-engine-like-google-or-bing-or-whatever/) [Stuart J. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-j-russell/) > [The more we learn about AI and about how the brain works, the more amazing the brain seems. Just the sheer amount of computation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-j-russell/the-more-we-learn-about-ai-and-about-how-the-brain-works-the-more/) [Stuart J. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-j-russell/) > [If human beings are losing every time, it doesn't matter whether they're losing to a conscious machine or an completely non conscious machine, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-j-russell/if-human-beings-are-losing-every-time-it-doesn-t-matter-whether-they/) [Stuart J. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-j-russell/) > [A lot of people talk about sometime around 2030, machines will be more powerful than the human brain, in terms of the raw number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-j-russell/a-lot-of-people-talk-about-sometime-around-2030-machines-will-be-more/) [Stuart J. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-j-russell/) > [I used to say that if you gave me a trillion dollars to build a sentient or conscious machine I would give it back.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-j-russell/i-used-to-say-that-if-you-gave-me-a-trillion-dollars-to-build-a/) [Stuart J. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-j-russell/) > [I expect that people are going to feel differently about that once they're aware that AI systems can watch through a camera and can,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-j-russell/i-expect-that-people-are-going-to-feel-differently-about-that-once/) [Stuart J. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-j-russell/) > [No one has a clue how to build a conscious machine, at all. We have less clue about how to do that than we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-j-russell/no-one-has-a-clue-how-to-build-a-conscious-machine-at-all-we-have/) [Stuart J. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-j-russell/) > [Some PhD physicists write software or work for hedge funds, but physics still has a problem with having very smart people but not enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-j-russell/some-phd-physicists-write-software-or-work-for-hedge-funds-but/) [Stuart J. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-j-russell/) > [To my knowledge nobody - no one who is publishing papers in the main field of AI - is even working on consciousness. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-j-russell/to-my-knowledge-nobody-no-one-who-is-publishing-papers-in-the-main/) [Stuart J. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-j-russell/) [Explore all 29 Stuart J. Russell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-j-russell/) ## More Decades quotes > [Nature will eventually do what nature has always done. It will respond in a self-stabilizing manner over the long term with moderate variability over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-h-sununu/nature-will-eventually-do-what-nature-has-always-done-it-will-respond/) John H. Sununu > [Music's free and music's for everyone to enjoy and express and interpret. It transcends countries and times and decades.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bat-for-lashes/music-s-free-and-music-s-for-everyone-to-enjoy-and-express-and/) [Bat for Lashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bat-for-lashes/) > [I should have liked to get married, but over many decades I have lived essentially alone. I go to sleep when I'm tired, get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/i-should-have-liked-to-get-married-but-over-many-decades-i-have-lived/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [In a couple of decades you have half of the wells that are drilled right now, and you're talking about numbers in the millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/in-a-couple-of-decades-you-have-half-of-the-wells-that-are-drilled/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [Among the many factors that make a return to halcyon days of the first decades of the postwar era virtually impossible is the decline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gilpin/among-the-many-factors-that-make-a-return-to-halcyon-days-of-the/) [Robert Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gilpin/) > [We're focused on providing innovations in software, driving the continuous improvement for a much better experience, and there's a lot going on here that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/we-re-focused-on-providing-innovations-in-software-driving-the/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [But we need to be very clear: because of our decades of collective denial, no gradual, incremental options are now available to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/but-we-need-to-be-very-clear-because-of-our-decades-of-collective/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [It's funny, I used to say on 'That 70's Show', you could really put us in any decade, and it was about the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-prepon/it-s-funny-i-used-to-say-on-that-70-s-show-you-could-really-put-us-in/) [Laura Prepon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-prepon/) > [So a truthful assessment of how America is doing in the war on terror as a result of President Bush's war on Iraq is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-olver/so-a-truthful-assessment-of-how-america-is-doing-in-the-war-on-terror/) [John Olver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-olver/) > [... many folks take them seriously because they just 'know' that evolution can never be seen in the immediate here and now. 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