Scientists have designed an artificial foot which they claim recycles energy otherwise wasted in between normal steps, making it easier for amputees to walk. <br/><br/>A team at Michigan University in the US has developed the new foot which when compared with conventional prosthetic feet, significantly cuts the energy spent per step, the 'PLoS' journal reported in Washington. <br/><br/>To test how stepping with their device compared with normal walking, the scientists conducted their experiments with non-amputees wearing a rigid boot and prosthetic simulator.<br/><br/>In their energy recycling foot, the scientists put the wasted walking energy to work enhancing the power of ankle push-off. The foot naturally captures the dissipated energy. A microcontroller tells the foot to return the energy to the system at precisely the right time.