A key element of any leg prosthesis is the prosthetic foot. Some models currently available are capable of rotating around three axes and accommodating to uneven terrain. "However, no prosthetic foot has yet been produced that can imitate the natural sequence of movements during walking," Schneider points out.
He and his team have developed a prosthetic foot that can do this by purely mechanical means, entirely without elaborate electronics. A human foot performs a tiny and almost imperceptible rotation with every step that it takes. After the heel strikes the ground, the foot first tilts inward and then rotates across its central position to the outer edge as the weight is transferred to the ball of the foot, while the hip pushes forward in preparation for the next step
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