Gait production in a tensegrity based robot

Abstract

The design of legged robots for movement has usually been based on a series of rigid links connected by actuated or passively compliant joints. However, the potential utility of tensegrity, in which form can be achieved using a disconnected set of rigid elements connected by a continuous network of tensile elements, has not been considered in the design of legged robots. This paper introduces the idea of a legged robot based on a tensegrity structure, and demonstrates that the dynamics of such structures can be utilized for locomotion. A mobile robot based on a triangular tensegrity prism is presented, which is actuated by contraction of its transverse cables. The automatic design of a controller architecture for forward locomotion is performed in simulation using a genetic algorithm which demonstrates that the structure can generate multiple effective gait patterns for forward locomotion. A real world tensegrity robot is implemented based on the simulated robot, which is shown to be capable of producing forward locomotion. The results suggest that a tensegrity structure can provide the basis for extremely lightweight and robust mobile robots