Summary

The goal of this project was to design a robot that could climb across monkey bars from below. The motivation behind this was to reduce the dynamic complexity of brachiation (swinging) robots. The proposed solution was to have a series of identical linkages with hooks as end effectors that would attach to a bar, pull the robot forward, then release the bar. At any given time, at least two hooks must be attached to bars so that the robot is always stable and never swings.

The final prototype consists of six such linkages operating in three phases, with three in the front and three in the back of the robot. The phases are aligned across diagonals to improve the robot's balance. The linkages are powered by a DC motor and are synchronized through a series of timing belts. Each hook comes forward to grab the bar, pulls back, then lifts up at the end of the motion to unhook itself. It then returns to its starting position by passing underneath the oncoming bars.

Contents

• Proposal
• Design and Analysis
• Prototype Iterations
• Final Prototype
• Lessons Learned