Stable open-loop brachiation on a vertical wall

Abstract

This paper presents a hybrid mechanical model for the Gibbot, a robot that dynamically locomotes along a vertical wall in a manner analogous to gibbons swinging between branches in the forest canopy. We focus on one particular gait, continuous-contact brachiation, which always has one handhold in contact with the wall. We use zero-cost, unstable solutions corresponding to horizontal brachiation, originally found by Gomes and Ruina, as templates to generate open-loop stable gaits in arbitrary directions. The first case considered is passive brachiation down a shallow slope, roughly corresponding to upside-down locomotion of the well-studied compass-gait biped. We then consider underactuated brachiation with a constant forcing term at the elbow to produce open-loop stable descending and ascending gaits.