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A simple pendulum consists of a small diameter ball suspended from a string, which has negligible mass but is strong enough to not stretch. In our daily life, pendulums have many uses, such as in clocks, on a swing set, and on a sinker on a fishing line.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 30, 2025

Postural Organization of Gait Initiation for Biomechanical Analysis Using Force Platform Recordings

Postural Organization of Gait Initiation for Biomechanical Analysis Using Force Platform Recordings

Published on: July 26, 2022

How Pendular Is Human Brachiation? When Form Does Not Follow Function.

Melody W Young¹, James Q Virga¹, Stratos J Kantounis¹

¹Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, New York, NY 11568, USA.

Animals : an Open Access Journal From MDPI

|May 13, 2023

Summary

Humans can brachiate, but with less energy recovery than specialized primates. Anatomical factors like long forelimbs significantly influence human brachiation mechanics and energy efficiency.

Keywords:

accelerometry center of mass locomotion mechanical energy suspensory

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Area of Science:

Primate locomotion
Biomechanics
Evolutionary anthropology

Background:

Brachiation is a unique suspensory locomotion in primates.
Non-human apes are specialized brachiators, while humans (Homo sapiens) primarily use bipedal striding.
Humans retain the physical capacity for brachiation despite anatomical divergence.

Purpose of the Study:

To quantify the mechanics of human brachiation.
To assess how human brachiation aligns with simple pendular motion.
To compare human brachiation to that of specialized non-human primates.

Main Methods:

Utilized triaxial accelerometry and high-speed videography to collect data on human brachiation.
Compared kinematic and dynamic data of human brachiation with that of non-human brachiating primates.
Analyzed energy recovery and pendular periods during brachiation.

Main Results:

Humans exhibit lower energy recovery and shorter pendular periods compared to siamangs (Symphalangus syndactylus).
Longer forelimb length and higher grip forces in humans contribute to reduced energetic costs via pendular recovery.
Humans display behavioral flexibility in brachiation (e.g., center of mass movement patterns).

Conclusions:

Anatomical features, not just behavioral strategies, are the primary determinants of brachiation performance variation.
Humans, while not specialized, can brachiate effectively due to specific anatomical adaptations.
This study provides the first quantitative assessment of human brachiation strategies in a comparative primate context.