Looking at the video I can't imagine this thing achieving balance while walking. It would fall to the side immediately if you removed the guide that held it upright. This is not a walking robot yet, it's a leg design. The movement looks plausible from the side, but not from the front.
It does look promising, but putting "achieves energy-efficient gait" in the title of their publication seems a bit disingenious. Putting out pictures of the thing standing - but not moving - in nature enviroments also doesn't help. Balance is the hard part.
Has anybody been able to find a download link for the actual publication?
Well yes, and they say why in the article. It doesn't yet have the degree of freedom in its hips to balance properly. That's not especially hard though - a pivot around the main spring axis would do the trick, and the dynamics of that part are well-understood at this point.
It does look promising, but putting "achieves energy-efficient gait" in the title of their publication seems a bit disingenious. Putting out pictures of the thing standing - but not moving - in nature enviroments also doesn't help. Balance is the hard part.
Has anybody been able to find a download link for the actual publication?