Chicken walker

A chicken walker is a fictional type of bipedal robot or mecha, distinguished by its rear-facing knee joint. This type of articulation resembles a bird's legs, hence the name. However, birds actually have forward-facing knees; they are digitigrade, and what most call the "knee" is actually the ankle.

They are usually less able to handle extremely rugged terrain than "man walkers". They are often shown to be faster than other robots, capable of roadrunner-like movements. The best example of this contrast in film is the fast pursuits of the ED-209 versus the steady walking pace of RoboCop in the RoboCop franchise. Also, in the Star Wars franchise, the chicken-walking AT-ST was used as a light scout vehicle rather than the elephantine AT-AT, which were lumbering quadrupeds.

Notable examples

• AT-ST and AT-RT (Star Wars universe)
• Jetfire in GERWALK mode (actually a version of Macross's VF-1 Valkyrie, licensed for the Transformers)
• ED-209 (RoboCop)
• The Zentradi Battlepods (The Super Dimension Fortress Macross Japanese anime series and its Robotech American adaptation)
• Sentinels and War Walkers (Warhammer 40,000)
• SB-913V Side Basshar, in battle mode (Kamen Rider 555)
• Metal Gear (Metal Gear series)
• Goliath (StarCraft)
• Numerous BattleMechs (Battletech/Mechwarrior)
• Military bots of the cult-classic game (Deus Ex)
• Battlewalkers (Battlefield 2142)
• Striker VX (Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3)
• Starscream (Transformers)