A Study on the Brachiation Type of Mobile Robot (3rd Report, Heuristic Creation of Driving Input and Control)

This paper deals with a new type of dynamically mobile robot modeling a gibbon, namely a long -armed ape, that moves branch to branch swinging his body like a pendulum. He does not use much force to move, because he makes use of gravity to swing. The manner of moving like a gibbon is called brachiation. In this paper we present the method to control the brachiation robot by showing the results of computer simulations using 2-link-model robot. The most difficult subject in this study is how to control it naturally and dynamically and with taking advantage of gravity force. First we introduce a heuristic approach to create driving force by exercising motions to move by the robot itself, then show that the interpolation of created forces in some situations makes new forces suitable to unknown ones. Finally we show that the proposed feedforward control system with a certain feedback loop gives a natural and dynamical motion of the brachiation robot. © 1991, The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers. All rights reserved.