Locomotion

Step Frequency

Step frequency, or cadence, is the number of steps a legged robot takes per unit time, which together with step length determines locomotion speed. Gait controllers treat it as a design or optimization variable trading off speed, stability, and energy: higher frequencies allow faster reaction to perturbations and smaller individual steps, but raise actuator bandwidth demands and impact losses. Model predictive controllers and learned locomotion policies often adapt cadence to terrain and commanded velocity.

Why it matters for physical AI

Cadence selection couples directly to actuator limits and recovery ability; adaptive step timing is one of the mechanisms behind the robustness of modern learned quadruped controllers.