Pneumatic Gibbot: Design and Simulation of a Pneumatic Brachiating Passive Dynamic System

Among locomotion types in robotics, climbing is an area where there is still much to be explored and improved. The locomotion of brachiation (arm swinging) is an energy-efficient mode of climbing most utilized by primates, like the gibbon. It allows for movement that utilizes energy conservation in a similar way to walking and can be simply modeled as a double pendulum. With this inspiration, we created a passive dynamic system that mimics the brachiation movement of a gibbon, inspired by the Gibbon Robot, “Gibbot”, prototype which introduced a unique design that allowed attachment anywhere on a metal wall. This thesis explored the process and challenges of updating the Gibbot to a continuous contact passive pneumatic design that could successfully mimic the graceful brachiation movement. The addition of pneumatics allowed a broad range of surface applications while introducing interesting design and simulation challenges. Once built, the prototype’s functionality was evaluated through lab testing. A simulation was then created in MATLAB, modeled after this design. Prototype data was then used to align the simulation more accurately with real-world behavior. This effort was evaluated and then the simulation was used to explore beyond the constraints of the prototype in the lab and provide information for further design improvement.