A Pneumatic Skating Robot

In this project, a mobile robot was designed with pneumatic and electric actuation. The main challenge was to create a robot capable of full locomotion, using only simple (binary) actuators. Three pneumatic cylinders and three electromagnetic solenoids were used to power this three legged robot. The pneumatic cylinders retract or extend simultaneously, and electromagnetic brakes at their distal ends serve as the robot's feet. Actuation of the brakes allows the feet to be either low-friction or high-friction. With the right control, a mixture of braking and actuation of the pneumatic cylinders can allow full motion control.