Using 1/10th scale 3D-printed hula hooping robots and a lot of math, researchers have determined the ideal body shape for hula hooping.
Hula hooping is a simple child's activity but requires defying gravity. A trio of mathematicians from NYU's Applied Mathematics Laboratory set out to explain the physics and mathematics of hula hooping. They also tested different robot body types to determine if there was an ideal body type. It turns out, somewhat unsurprisingly, that hips and a curvy waist are the ideal combination to successfully hula hoop.
They tested different shapes and motions in a series of experiments on robotic hula hoopers using 3D-printed bodies of different shapes (e.g., cylinders, cones, hourglass shapes) to represent human forms at one-tenth the size.
These shapes were driven to gyrate by a motor, replicating the motions we take when hula hooping. Hoops approximately 6 inches in diameter were launched on these bodies, with high-speed video capturing the movements.
The best hula-hooping robot had "hips and a curvy waist." In robots with just hips and no waist, the hoop could fight the Earth's gravitational pull, but "small perturbations" would cause the hoop to climb or fall. Both were required to achieve stability. All this work was not child's play, however. The study's authors hope it will "inspire and inform robotic applications for transforming motions, extracting energy from vibrations, and controlling and manipulating objects without gripping."
Previously: Post-disco legend Grace Jones, 75, masterfully hula-hoops for entire song at Pride event
