This paper presents the design, analysis, and performance evaluation of RicMonk, a novel three-link brachiation robot equipped with passive hook-shaped grippers. Brachiation, an agile and energy-efficient mode of locomotion observed in primates, has inspired the development of RicMonk to explore versatile locomotion and maneuvers on ladder-like structures. The robot's anatomical resemblance to gibbons and the integration of a tail mechanism for energy injection contribute to its unique capabilities. The paper discusses the use of the Direct Collocation methodology for optimizing trajectories for the robot's dynamic behaviors and stabilization of these trajectories using a Time-varying Linear Quadratic Regulator. With RicMonk we demonstrate bidirectional brachiation, and provide comparative analysis with its predecessor, AcroMonk - a two-link brachiation robot, to demonstrate that the presence of a passive tail helps improve energy efficiency. The system design, controllers, and software implementation are publicly available on GitHub and the video demonstration of the experiments can be viewed YouTube.

翻译：本文介绍了RicMonk——一种配备被动钩形抓手的新型三连杆臂行机器人的设计、分析与性能评估。臂行作为灵长类动物敏捷且节能的运动模式，启发我们开发RicMonk以探索其在梯状结构上的多样化运动与机动能力。该机器人仿生于长臂猿的解剖学特征，并集成了用于能量注入的尾部机构，从而具备独特性能。本文阐述了采用直接配点法优化机器人动态行为轨迹的方法，并利用时变线性二次型调节器实现这些轨迹的稳定控制。通过RicMonk演示了双向臂行动作，并与前代双连杆臂行机器人AcroMonk进行对比分析，证明被动尾部的存在有助于提升能量效率。系统设计、控制器及软件实现已在GitHub上开源，实验视频演示可在YouTube上观看。