In your opinion, which of these animals is more majestic?
To an American the choice is obvious, and there's a reason Don Henley didn't co-found The Ostriches. But as far as which animal we humans have more in common with, it's the latter bird.
That's because ostriches run on two legs, like we do.
Unlike us, however, ostriches can reach speeds of over 40 miles per hour. Take a look at the gams on this thing:
Pretty impressive quads, considering they don't do CrossFit. But an ostrich's speed also has much to do with their tendon structure. After studying this, obsessive inventor Keahi Seymour has spent nearly two decades tweaking prototypes of his Bionic Boots, which are based on ostrich anatomy:
Pretty impressive. And from a biomimetic design perspective, it seems that in contrast, eagles simply don't have much to offer us.
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A similar type of shoe called 'pogo shoes' or 'jumping stilts' have been out for a number of years. They use a bow-shaped spring (which is more efficient at story energy than the rubber extension springs he has).
Actually, those aren't the ostrich's quads you're seeing. Those are its calves. Its quads are tucked under the feathers.
there is no such thing as a 'worldwide patent'.
Doesn't look very fast to me... and pretty cumbersome.