Locomotion

Bounding Gait

A bounding gait is a dynamic quadruped gait in which the front leg pair and hind leg pair alternate contact, with the body pitching cyclically and flight phases between touchdowns, as seen in running dogs and rabbits. It stresses actuators with high-impulse impacts and demands precise pitch control, making it a benchmark behavior in dynamic legged robotics from the MIT Cheetah's bounding to reinforcement-learned gait repertoires.

Why it matters for physical AI

Mastering high-flight-phase gaits certifies that a control stack can exploit full body dynamics near hardware limits, capabilities that carry over to jumping, gap crossing, and rough-terrain agility in the field.