Human walking motions are a continuous fall. That is to say, if you suddenly tried to stop in place while walking, you'd fall on your face.
It is incredibly difficult to have robots that can adjust dynamically to actually walk like humans.
In point of fact, it's much better to have them NOT walk like humans. Centering their weight over each foot while moving allows them to stop in place without falling on their ass. Pay attention to how people walk. It's a form of continuously falling forward, but never hitting the ground.
The Japanese, however, have a fascination with attempting to make robots human. They disregard that a human's mechanical design is FAR from optimal. For instance, a robot can easily have a wrist joint that rotates continuously in 360 degrees. Humans are top-heavy and prone to falling over. etc.
The biggest challenge in robotics isn't really the programming or balancing or mechanical systems. It's the power source. And no one is anywhere close to making that workable.
#omgrobots